Meaning & use
bullshitter
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformalvulgardisapproving
A person who habitually lies, exaggerates or talks confidently about things they know nothing about.
Grammar: Countable: he is a bullshitter; she called him a bullshitter.
Patterns
- a bullshitter about something
- a total bullshitter
Nobody believed his stories about meeting celebrities because he was a known bullshitter.
She can spot a bullshitter in an interview within five minutes.
The manager turned out to be a bullshitter who had never run a team before.
Word forms
| plural | bullshitters |
|---|
Common combinations
- a notorious bullshitter
- The salesman was a notorious bullshitter.
- a total bullshitter
- Everyone knew he was a total bullshitter.
- spot a bullshitter
- Experienced recruiters can spot a bullshitter quickly.
- a world-class bullshitter
- He bragged so smoothly that people called him a world-class bullshitter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- liar
- Liar means someone who deliberately says false things, while a bullshitter may simply not care whether what they say is true.
- windbag
- Windbag is milder and mocks someone who talks too much, whereas bullshitter focuses on dishonesty or empty claims.
- fraud
- Fraud suggests pretending to be someone or something one is not, and sounds more serious and less casual.
- blowhard
- Blowhard stresses loud boasting, while bullshitter stresses lack of honesty.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bullshitter or bull?
bullshitter vs bull
Bull on its own is a male cow, or a shortened rude word for nonsense, and does not name a person the way bullshitter does.
Practice
My uncle claims he has met every president, but he is such a ____ that nobody believes him.
Choose one answer.
A bullshitter makes exaggerated or false claims, which is why nobody believes him. The other nouns describe people but not someone who exaggerates.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bullshitter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.