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claptrap
Use
Claptrap
in a sentence
clap·trap
/
ˈklæpˌtræp
/
Show Spelled
[
klap
-trap
]
Show IPA
noun
1.
pretentious but insincere or empty
language
:
His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap.
2.
any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public.
Origin:
1720–30;
clap
1
+
trap
1
Synonyms
1.
sham, humbug, hokum, nonsense, bunk.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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claptrap
Collins
World English Dictionary
claptrap
(ˈklæpˌtræp)
—
n
1.
contrived but foolish talk
2.
insincere and pretentious talk:
politicians' claptrap
[C18 (in the sense: something contrived to elicit applause): from
clap
1
+
trap
1
]
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Relevant Questions
What Is Clap·trap?
What Define Claptrap?
What Is Clap·trap?
What Define Claptrap?
00:10
Claptrap
is always a great word to know.
So is
zedonk
. Does it mean:
So is
slumgullion
. Does it mean:
So is
ort
. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
claptrap
c.1730, "trick to 'catch' applause," a stage term; from
clap
(v.) +
trap
(n.). Extended sense of "cheap, showy language" is from 1819; hence "nonsense, rubbish."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Your low level radiation nonsense is utter
claptrap
.
Actually, many of them probably only pretend to believe the
claptrap
they
espouse.
Any suggestion to the contrary is bourgeois nationalist
claptrap
.
As a reviewer, he is as adept at unwrapping cinematic artistry and expertise as
he is at dissecting mediocrity and
claptrap
.
Ignore it and you are at the risk of spouting anti-science
claptrap
yourself.
The sad part is the editors for some reason chose to not only publish the
claptrap
but to endorse it.
His
claptrap
about catering to status anxieties is patronizing nonsense.
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"Some time ago a publisher told me that there are four kinds of books that seldom, if ever, lose money in the United States—first, murder stories; secondly, novels in which the heroine is forcibly overcome by the hero; thirdly, volumes on spiritualism, occultism and other such
claptrap
, and fourthly, books on Lincoln."
-H.L. Mencken
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Synonyms
nonsense
bombast
drivel
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Synonym Game
bunk
bombast
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