Rigmarole

//ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A long and complicated formal procedure. countable, uncountable

    "Have you seen all the rigmarole you have to go through at airport security these days?"

  2. 2
    a long and complicated and confusing procedure wordnet
  3. 3
    Confused and incoherent talk; nonsense. countable, dated, uncountable

    "Often one's dear friend talks something which one scruples to call rigmarole."

  4. 4
    a set of confused and meaningless statements wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Characterized by rigmarole; prolix; tedious.

    "This is a most rigmarole letter, for after each sentence, I take breath[…]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
carry-oncircus actpalaverriddle me reeabsurdityabsurdity

Example

More examples

"Have you seen all the rigmarole you have to go through at airport security these days?"

Etymology

From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.