Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A substance that gives nourishment; food.
- noun Insipid intellectual nourishment.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Food, in the widest sense; aliment; nutriment; that which nourishes an animal or vegetable organism; by extension, that which nourishes or supports any physical process, as fuel for a fire.
- noun Hence, food for thought; intellectual or spiritual nourishment or support.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The means of nutriment to animals or plants; food; nourishment.
- noun That which feeds or sustains, such as fuel for a fire
- noun Trite or simplistic writing, sentiments, etc.; pablum{3}.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
food orfodder , particularly that taken in by plants or animals. - noun material that feeds a fire.
- noun figuratively food for thought.
- noun bland intellectual fare; an undemanding diet of words.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun insipid intellectual nourishment
- noun any substance that can be used as food
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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They supposed that the air contained a principle proper for the support and nourishment of life, which they called pabulum vitae.
Popular Lectures on Zoonomia Or The Laws of Animal Life, in Health and Disease Thomas Garnett 1784
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The "pabulum" to which Christie was referring: O'Malley's comments on a recent radio show in which he said Christie's brand of pension reform showed that the New Jersey Republican "delights in being abusive towards public employees."
A day later, O'Malley hits back against N.J.'s Christie John Wagner 2011
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An architect of the White House's earlier policies dismissed Mr. Bellinger's remarks as "pabulum" from a State Department that is too solicitous of international institutions.
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Two weeks ago, the EPA had to omit the entire global-warming section from its "Draft Report on the Environment," a 30-year statistical snapshot of the U.S. environment, after the administration tried to replace solid findings with "pabulum," according to outgoing EPA administrator Christie Whitman.
Eschaton 2003
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Two weeks ago, the EPA had to omit the entire global-warming section from its "Draft Report on the Environment," a 30-year statistical snapshot of the U.S. environment, after the administration tried to replace solid findings with "pabulum," according to outgoing EPA administrator Christie Whitman.
Archive 2003-07-01 2003
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Family fare with good characters that bounce between pabulum and tears?
Lorraine Devon Wilke: How The Killing Is Saving Television Lorraine Devon Wilke 2011
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Though its once-scandalous content nowadays can't compete with the pabulum of reality TV, the production, in the hands of Daavid and his talented cast, successfully examines a chain reaction that begins with five rooms of furniture being hauled away for non-payment.
James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012
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Though its once-scandalous content nowadays can't compete with the pabulum of reality TV, the production, in the hands of Daavid and his talented cast, successfully examines a chain reaction that begins with five rooms of furniture being hauled away for non-payment.
James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012
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Family fare with good characters that bounce between pabulum and tears?
Lorraine Devon Wilke: How The Killing Is Saving Television Lorraine Devon Wilke 2011
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Family fare with good characters that bounce between pabulum and tears?
Lorraine Devon Wilke: How The Killing Is Saving Television Lorraine Devon Wilke 2011
chained_bear commented on the word pabulum
Similar to pablum?
May 11, 2010
reesetee commented on the word pabulum
Same thing, different spelling.
May 14, 2010