Pab·lum

(păb′ləm)

A trademark for a bland soft cereal for infants.

pab·lum

(păb′ləm)

1. A bland soft cereal for infants.

2. Intellectual material that is bland, trite, or insipid: "It was the sort of pablum routinely pronounced by State Department spokesmen when they had no real policy to describe" (Steve Coll).

[Originally a trademark.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Pablum

(ˈpɑːbləm)

(Cookery) trademark a cereal food for infants, developed in Canada

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Pab•lum

(ˈpæb ləm)

1. Trademark. a brand of soft cereal for infants.

2. (l.c.) trite, naive, or simplistic ideas or writings; intellectual pap.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Pablum - a soft form of cereal for infants trademark - a formally registered symbol identifying the manufacturer or distributor of a product soft diet, spoon food, pap - a diet that does not require chewing; advised for those with intestinal disorders cereal - a breakfast food prepared from grain
	2.	pablum - worthless or oversimplified ideas pap drivel, garbage - a worthless message

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References in periodicals archive

To say that the U.S.-Israel relationship rests on "shared values and shared interests" is the stuff of political pablum. Presidents and politicians of both parties and countries have used this phrase so frequently that is has become an almost comic cliche.

Trump Didn't Just Reveal Israeli ISIS Intel. He Revealed Why the US-Israel Alliance Is So Resilient

That may have sounded good in the office of a campaign's headquarters, but there was nothing specific in this buzzword-laden pablum. Multiculturalism does not help anyone pay their mortgage or find a job.

Clinton campaign gave US President Trump

For example, Maclean's magazine told Canadians they were right to be angry about the Panama Papers, and should "continue to watch politicians." The Canadian Press wire service published similar pablum.

Panama papers: the tip of a massive iceberg

An attractive and appealing cast helps this formulaic pablum go down easy, but the genial tone buffs the edge out of every element: The bro-bonding is jocular but never raunchy, the sex scenes never outpace their slow-jam R&B accompaniment, and the hero is never so much of a cad that he can't win everyone back with an ingratiating smile.

The Perfect Match

8 Pablum as to why money's squandered on sweet deals for developers ("Tax incentives aren't giveaways") made some sense until I saw a picture of The Hub as evidence of what a good deal is for Eugene taxpayers.

Letters

(7.) AA Bronson, "Pablum for the Pablum Eaters," in Video by Artists, ed.

Battle stances: general idea, CEAC, and the struggle for ideological dominance in Toronto, 1976-78

Meanwhile, the Navajo public is fed pablum. The lead architect for Confluence Partners, a man named Mike Lee, sat with a wad of gum in his mouth before the Navajo Council last June.

Grand folly

And when responding to that statement, instead of camouflaging the response with more buzzword pablum, we should provide a clear, concise response that communicates we are flexible and will work with you.

All the buzz: resolved: "every employee needs to work together and share information."

Anecdotal evidence that creative people want to experience their learning with real participation rather than passive exposure to "thought-leader" pablum. But how easy is it to unconference the conference format and turn conference goers into conference doers?

Unconference the conference: with an industry clogged with face-to-face events, those that offer learning through active participation will stand out

The meeting also dealt with destructive pablum spewed forth by extremist groups in the region coaxing the youth to adopt extremist and hateful ideas that in effect and unwittingly mar the true picture of Islam, said the minister, urging that GCC information ministries counter the hateful speech of these extremist and odious groups by taking up a unified speech that appeal to the mind and soul of the youth.

GCC info. ministers seek mutual handling of media issues

Despite its purported "gentleness" the thesis is deeply subversive; at no point does the author give in to easy pablum of many religious professions.

An Atheist's History of Belief: Understanding Our Most Extraordinary Invention

"Some manufacturers send pablum [recall notices], so people don't really think they're that important," says Joan Claybrook, a veteran auto safety advocate who headed NHTSA from 1977 to 1981.

Recalled but not repaired: why we have millions of cars with unfixed safety recalls--and Germany has none