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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

rigmarole.

A long and complicated formal procedure.

9 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɪɡməɹoʊl/US
  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. Confused and incoherent talk; nonsense.

    countable · dated · uncountable
    If you are alluding to Dostoevski’s worst novels, then, indeed, I dislike intensely The Karamazov Brothers and the ghastly Crime and Punishment rigmarole.
Where this word comes from

From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”). Recorded since c1736.

adj/ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɪɡməɹoʊl/US
  1. Characterized by rigmarole; prolix; tedious.

Where this word comes from

From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”). Recorded since c1736.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.