TransWikia.com

Something that sounds good but has no true meaning

English Language & Usage Asked by guest042381 on January 8, 2021

I am looking for a single word to describe this case.

Lets say someone makes a claim and tries to back it up but fails at doing so.
These words do sound pleasurable perhaps filled with platitudes, often used to communicate good intentions but lacking meaning or reason.
It’s the best I can do to describe this.

The word is close to something like this “those are just a bunch of syllables”

2 Answers

It is a mistake to assume that every concept imaginable can be expressed by a unique word. English is lexically rich, but not that rich. Sometimes you must resort to more than one word, a phrase, a clause, a sentence, or even a book.

There are nouns that mean close to what you seem to want to convey. "Nonsense" is a common noun to express lack of logical or factual substance, but "nonsense" by itself does not imply that it is pleasant or plausible. A "commonplace" and a "platitude" mean that a thought is both commonly held and expressed in a formulaic way, but that does not make the thought nonsense. "Vacuous" is an adjective that means lacking logical and factual substance, but it does not imply "pleasant" or "plausible." This is where a thesaurus comes in handy.

Of course, once you let yourself combine nouns and adjectives, you have a wealth of possibilities: "sweet nothings," "meaningless pap," "vacuous platitudes," and "platitudinous nonsense" are examples. And you can concatenate adjectives: "vacuous but plausible platitudes" expresses the sense you seem to want with a euphonious consonance.

EDIT: User Nate has suggested that "specious" is an adjective to consider.

Answered by Jeff Morrow on January 8, 2021

Your question seems to seek a noun. I have three suggestions:

Flimflam =

1 : deceptive nonsense

2 : DECEPTION, FRAUD

Merriam webster

Or you might use

Waffle = to talk or write a lot without giving any useful information or any clear answers:

Cambridge dictionary

I also like

Drivel = something written or said that is completely worthless; nonsense

Cambridge dictionary

Answered by Anton on January 8, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP