malarkey
ma·lar·key/məˈlɑɹki/noun
malarkey is spelled M-A-L-A-R-K-E-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ma·lar·key). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, malarkey means “Nonsense; rubbish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in malarkey?
| Letters | 8: M-A-L-A-R-K-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ma·lar·key |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is malarkey?
Malarkey appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce malarkey?
- UK /məˈlɑːki/
- US /məˈlɑɹki/
Malarkey has 3 syllables, split ma·lar·key in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-malarkey.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with malarkey?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as malarkey from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹki/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of malarkey
- malarkeys plural, rare
- malachy
- malarky
- mallarky
- mullarkey
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does malarkey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalNonsense; rubbish.
I decided it was a bunch of malarkey and stopped reading about halfway through.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malarkey in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense nonsense; rubbish – see also nonsense:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | absurdité |
| German | Blödsinn, Humbug, Kappes, Mumpitz, Quatsch, Schmarrn |
| Portuguese | besteira, bobeira, rodela, disparate, nūga |
| Spanish | majaderías, payasadas, sandeces, tonterías, sinsentido, majadería |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does malarkey come from?
Of unknown origin; the word was popularized by the Irish-American cartoonist Thomas Aloysius (“Tad”) Dorgan (1877–1929), who started using it in cartoons on March 9, 1922. Maybe from Irish mallachtóireacht or Greek μαλακίες (malakíes)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).