He told the boss some cockamamie story about being sick and needing days off from work.
Source: tatoeba (982667)
Cockamamie
/ˌkɒk.əˈmeɪ.mi/
Synonyms for "cockamamie" (33 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (7)
Strong matches (10)
Adjective(1 words)
Related words (16)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: absurd, absurd, beyond belief, bizarre, cockamamy.
- Sentence evidence is available for cockamamie, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, wordnet, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "cockamamie".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "cockamamie"
Keep "cockamamie" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "cockamamie" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "cockamamie", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "cockamamie" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
3 entriescolloquial adjectiveinformal descriptorpejorative term
More specific
5 entriesCollocations
5 entriescockamamie excusecockamamie ideacockamamie proposalcockamamie schemecockamamie story
Inflections
2 entriesmore cockamamiemost cockamamie
similar
1 entriesSample sentences
14 total sentences available.
“If it wuz a nickel,” said one broody voice between the gratings, “I could buy fuh two cends cockamamies an’ pud em on mine hull arm. An’ den fuh t’ree cends I’ll go to duh movies.” “Yuh c’n buy fuh t’ree cends cockamamies.” Izzy crisply revised the dream.
Source: wiktionary
As a youngster in The Bronx in the early 1930s, I would occasionally take my windfall of a few pennies to the local candy store and buy a strip of cockamamies, ‘comic-style cartoons in brilliant colors, each about an inch by an inch and a half, transferable to forearm or forehead by wetting’, preferably with saliva to make things agreeably messy.
Source: wiktionary
Lo and behold, in full color there was a photograph of an old glass-paned hanging cupboard with clusters of strawberry, cherry, green grape and apple “cockamamies” pasted in the center of each pane.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 14 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "cockamamie"?
Closest matches include absurd, absurd, beyond belief, bizarre, cockamamy.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "cockamamie"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.