Definitions:

1. Referring to actual physical sustenance or food that nourishes the body; anything that is eaten to sustain life, provide energy, and promote growth and health. NOUN
   • The dietician emphasized the importance of choosing the right pabulum to maintain a balanced and healthy diet.
2. Used metaphorically to describe intellectual food, meaning something that nourishes the mind or soul, sustains intellectual life, or stimulates thought, such as, knowledge, ideas, cultural activities, or any form of mental stimulation. NOUN
   • Seeking intellectual pabulum, she frequented lectures and workshops that explored deep philosophical questions.
3. Used to describe bland, insipid, or unchallenging material that lacks sustenance or sophistication. NOUN
   • The novel was dismissed by critics as mere pabulum, offering little in the way of original thought or character development.

Synonyms:

• banality
• cerebration
• drivel
• edible
• edification
• fare
• fluff
• food
• intellectual nourishment
• mental fodder
• nutriment
• pap
• provisions
• stimulus
• sustenance
• tripe