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Synonyms

phooey

American  
[foo-ee] / ˈfu i /
Also pfui

interjection

Informal.

  1. (an exclamation indicating rejection, contempt, or disgust).

    Phooey on all those political promises!
phooey British  
/ ˈfuːɪ /

interjection

  1. informal an exclamation of scorn, contempt, disbelief, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of phooey

An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; perhaps from German pfui! expression of disgust, conflated with English phoo! with similar force

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The “can’t win the big one” thing is phooey.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2022

Pardon our French, but phooey to all of that.

From Washington Times • Nov. 26, 2019

So, I say to all you guys, phooey.

From New York Times • Jul. 5, 2016

He thought celebrity, cost, luxury and labels were all phooey.

From The Guardian • Jun. 27, 2016

They could phooey all night long for all I cared.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.