Meaning & use
brouhaha
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Meaning
nounsingularinformal
A loud, excited public reaction to something, usually seen as out of proportion to its importance.
Grammar: Usually singular and used with an or the: a brouhaha over the menu.
Patterns
- a brouhaha over something
- a brouhaha about something
There was a huge brouhaha over the team's new uniforms.
The mayor's choice of a haircut caused an absurd brouhaha online.
Once the brouhaha died down, nobody remembered what had started it.
Word forms
| plural | brouhahas |
|---|
Common combinations
- a brouhaha over
- A brouhaha over parking spaces split the neighborhood.
- create a brouhaha
- His offhand comment created a brouhaha at the meeting.
- media brouhaha
- The media brouhaha lasted a week and then vanished.
- cause a brouhaha
- The late-night noise caused a brouhaha in the apartment building.
- the brouhaha surrounding
- The brouhaha surrounding the film's title seemed silly to most viewers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- uproar
- An uproar can be a serious and justified outcry, while brouhaha suggests the commotion is rather silly or exaggerated.
- hullabaloo
- Hullabaloo stresses loud noisy confusion and is even more playful than brouhaha.
- furor
- Furor suggests angry public excitement and sounds more serious, while brouhaha usually mocks the fuss.
- commotion
- A commotion is any noisy disturbance, whether or not it is overblown, so it lacks the mocking edge of brouhaha.
Opposites
Word family
- ha-ha noun
- unrelated in meaning; the word is an imitation of a noisy crowd (not a true family member)
Commonly confused: brouhaha or bravado?
brouhaha vs bravado
Bravado is a show of boldness, not a noisy fuss, though both words have a loud, showy feel.
Practice
Which situation is best described as a brouhaha?
Choose one answer.
A brouhaha is a loud, excited fuss, typically over something small. A quiet disagreement lacks the public noise that the word requires.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “brouhaha”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.