woo woo

English

Etymology

Uncertain. It has been suggested that "woo woo" is intended to imitate the eerie background music of sci-fi/horror films and television shows.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wuː.wuː/

Noun

woo woo (plural woo woos)

1. (slang) A person readily accepting supernatural, paranormal, occult, or pseudoscientific phenomena, or emotion-based beliefs and explanations.

   That reporter is a bit of a woo woo.

2. (slang) Those beliefs.

   He is really into all that woo woo.

   • Erikson Physocialsocial Stages

     Social work has gotten distinctly woo-woo lately. There's a lot of endorsement of quackery. I think that might be because the social work profession has attracted a lot of people who don't want to do science, or maybe because there is a big market for woo-woo stuff.

3. An alcoholic cocktail consisting of peach schnapps, vodka and cranberry juice.

Adjective

woo woo (comparative more woo woo, superlative most woo woo)

1. (slang) Supernatural, unrealistic.

   He made a living out of woo woo beliefs.

2. (slang) Describing a person readily accepting supernatural, paranormal, occult, or pseudoscientific phenomena, or emotion-based beliefs and explanations.

   Pert is a talented scientist who went woo woo many years ago for reasons I don’t have time to go into here.

Alternative forms

• woo-woo

References

• Double-Tongued Dictionary
• Insolitology (The Woo-Woo Dictionary)
• The Woo-Woo Stuff: Musings on the Metaphysical