woo woo

or woo-woo

[ woo-woo ]

noun

1. any force, phenomenon, process, etc., that has no clear scientific explanation and is regarded by some as mystical or spiritual and by others as illusory or fraudulent:

   I’m hesitating about this alternative therapy, because so far it’s just woo woo and not really provable.

   Higher-frequency thoughts like gratitude or love raise your frequency and lift you up—if that’s not too much woo-woo for you.

adjective

1. relating to a force, phenomenon, process, etc., that has no clear scientific explanation and is regarded by some as mystical or spiritual and by others as illusory or fraudulent:

   I know it sounds very woo woo, but as I wrote the song I felt the presence and inspiration of my late grandfather so powerfully it gave me the shivers.

   I did my best to refute the worst woo-woo pseudoscience in the blog, but it was difficult.

woo-woo

/ ˈwuːˌwuː /

adjective

1. derogatory.
   based on or involving irrational superstition

Word History and Origins

Origin of woo woo¹

First recorded in 1970–75; of imitative origin

Example Sentences

These were regular people, he said, not just “woo woo” L.A. hippies.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m going ‘Woo! Woo!’ and Phillip said, ‘Oh my gosh.”

From Slate

I've had them moments where I'm like, "Oh, it's so political, woo, woo, woo."

From Salon

This sounds super woo woo, but I swear it's the truth: I had my leg bent and rested up on the edge of the kitchen sink I was ashing into when all of a sudden I heard her in my mind saying, "When I was your age you were almost a teenager."

From Salon

Woo woo woooo was how he explained the noise to me, capturing with startling accuracy a collective surge of grief and menace.

From Los Angeles Times

About This Word

What else does woo-woo mean?

Woo-woo is a slang term used to insult mystical or supernatural beliefs not backed up by science.

How is woo-woo pronounced?

[ woo-woo ]

Where does woo-woo come from?

Woo-woo is first recorded in the 1980s, used to mock beliefs associated with the likes of New Age culture.

The term may have originated as an imitation of the sound of the theremin in horror and sci-fi films and TV, or of the spooky noises associated with ghosts and the supernatural.

<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JzRb1OVpat0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Although woo-woo is usually considered derogatory, some alternative medicine practitioners, such as Deepak Chopra, have used the term themselves.

How is woo-woo used in real life?

As noted, some in the spiritualist or alternative medicine communities have taken up the label woo-woo, including U.K.-based spiritual teacher and podcaster Vix Maxwell (who goes by the moniker New Age Hipster). She, for instance, offers Woo Woo 101 courses for beginners at her Woo Woo School. 

<svg width="50px" height="50px" viewbox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg>

View this post on Instagram

It's heeerrreeeee!! 🙌🏻🙏🏻🔮 . Doors are open for #totallyspiritual 🌟🔮📚 . If you are ready to go from a bit woo to really getting your spiritual shiz together, this 6 week online course is for yoooou! 🌟🙌🏻🌟 . Payment plans start at just £38! 🙀🙀🙀 . Full deets via link in ig bio or: http://www.newagehipster.co/totally-spiritual/ . #spiritual #metaphysical #woowoo #onlinecourse #newagehipster 🌟

A post shared by Vix (@newagehipster333) on Sep 24, 2017 at 4:27am PDT

Skeptics, however, typically use woo-woo to make fun of or dismiss (sometimes very harmful) pseudoscientific wellness beliefs and their practitioners. National Geographic Traveler even declared Sedona, Arizona to be the “Capital of Woo-Woo” in a 2010 magazine article.

Huge difference. ‘Adrenal failure’ is a legitimate medical condition in which, for whatever reason, the adrenal glands don’t produce enough hormone for the body. Can be life-threatening.

‘Adrenal fatigue’ is woo-woo from people who want to steal from you. https://t.co/oHBuop7LZd

— Alastair ‘Wash Your Hands’ McAlpine (@AlastairMcA30) October 19, 2018

More examples of woo-woo:

“I’ve seen two posts about being an empath on Facebook today. Everyone ready for a new, woo-woo buzz word?”
—@tomorrow_kelly, October 2018

“I don’t want to get too woo-woo about the whole thing, but there is kind of a spiritualism or mysticism with some kinds of fly fishing, especially when you progress through the beginning, intermediate and advanced stages”
—Tom Morgan quoted by Chet Layman, MTN News, October 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.