harumph

English

Alternative forms

• harrumph

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /həˈɹʌm(p)f/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ha‧rumph

Interjection

harumph

1. An expression of disdain, disbelief, protest, refusal or dismissal.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bullshit, Thesaurus:bah

   Harumph! She is welcome to try, but I'm not going to bother helping.

   • 1982, Patrick F. McManus, They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?:

     "Harumph! Well, now, perhaps I spoke too soon, McManus."

Noun

harumph (plural harumphs)

1. An expression of disdain, disbelief, protest, or dismissal; a huff, grunt, or snort.

   I didn't get a harumph out of that guy.

   Give the governor a harumph.

Verb

harumph (third-person singular simple present harumphs, present participle harumphing, simple past and past participle harumphed)

1. To dislike, protest, or dismiss.
   • 2009 August 25, Paula Cocozza, “The rules of back-garden etiquette”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Is it wrong to harumph when the scent of spitting fat drifts towards your washing line?

   • 2012 June 3, Hugh Muir, “Hideously diverse Britain: standing up for the Romanians”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     "An open invitation for beggars," harumphed Migrationwatch. Ever the humanitarians.

Translations

dislike

• German: missbilligen (de)
• Serbo-Croatian: gunđati (sh), negodovati (sh)
• Swedish: fnysa (sv)