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pabulum

pab·u·lum [ ˈpa-byə-ləm]

pabulum

noun

[ˈpa-byə-ləm]

Definition of pabulum

1 : food
especially : a suspension or solution of nutrients in a state suitable for absorption
//Roots deliver pabulum to the plant.

2 : intellectual sustenance
//pabulum for consideration and reflection

3 : something (such as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic, or bland
//wrote pabulum that was intended to offend no one

Synonyms & Antonyms for dainty

Synonyms: Synonyms

Did You Know

Pabulum derives from the Latin term for "food" or "fodder" and was first used in English in the 17th century for anything taken in by plants or animals to maintain life and growth. Within 30 years of its first appearance in English texts, it was also being used to refer to things so intellectually stimulating or nourishing that they could be considered food for thought. But the word took on a whole new flavor in the 1930s when a team of Canadian doctors formulated a highly nutritious (but bland) baby cereal and named their product "Pablum" (based on the Latin word). As a result, the similar-looking "pabulum" did a linguistic about-face and is now often used for things that are bland and unstimulating as well as for things that are intellectually sustaining.

Recent Examples on the Web

//His onscreen counterpart in the film adaptation of this story, Memoir of a Murderer, trades in this complexity for more standard antihero pabulum (his only desire is to keep Eunhui safe).
— Alana Mohamed, The Atlantic, "Inside the Head of an Aging Serial Killer," 11 June 2019
//The pabulum that passes for most reviews is an insult to the intelligence of most readers.
— Christian Lorentzen, Harper's magazine, "Like This or Die," 10 Apr. 2019
//They are just being fed this pabulum of leftist ideology.
— Fox News, "Hogan Gidley on Macron's 'special relationship' with Trump," 25 Apr. 2018
//Direct pronouncements from him are so rare that even this pabulum was treated as push-alert-worthy news.
— Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, "Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet," 12 Mar. 2018
//And the realities of international diplomacy have, over decades, led spokespeople for presidents of both parties to offer near-identical pabulum on some of America's most vexing foreign policy questions.
— Matt Lehrich, CNN, "Why we need to watch Sean Spicer squirm," 26 May 2017

First Known Use of pabulum

circa 1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for pabulum

Latin, food, fodder; akin to Latin pascere to feed — more at food

Dictionary Entries near pabulum