bullshit
bullshit Lexical Profile
bullshit Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Stupid, untrue, or insincere talk or writing; nonsense or deceptive exaggeration (vulgar slang).
"The audience quickly realized that the speaker's promises were complete bullshit."
Trivial, irritating, or unfair bureaucratic tasks, rules, or circumstances (vulgar slang).
"She loved teaching but hated all the administrative bullshit that came with the job."
• interjection
Used to express strong disbelief, contempt, or rejection of a statement as false or absurd (vulgar slang).
"Bullshit! There is no way you finished the entire project in an hour."
• verb
To talk nonsense or bluff to someone in an attempt to deceive, impress, or mislead them (vulgar slang).
"Stop trying to bullshit me and just tell me what really happened to the car."
To engage in idle, casual, or boastful conversation (vulgar slang).
"We sat around the campfire for hours, drinking beer and bullshitting about our college days."
• adjective
False, fraudulent, unfair, or utterly nonsensical (vulgar slang).
"He quit his job because he was tired of dealing with the company's bullshit excuses."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although considered a vulgarism unsuitable for formal settings, it is widely used in casual speech and has even become a technical term in analytical philosophy (most notably via Harry Frankfurt) to distinguish speech that is indifferent to the truth from deliberate lying.
Word Origin & Etymology
Attested from the early 20th century as a compound of 'bull' (carrying an older slang sense of 'nonsense' or 'empty talk' dating to the 17th century) and the vulgar intensifier 'shit'.