: characterized by or suggestive of claptrap
especially
: of a cheap showy nature
claptrap sentiment
Synonyms
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Examples of claptrap in a Sentence
Noun
His entire speech was nothing but claptrap.
I'm tired of hearing all that claptrap about how hard her life is.
Recent Examples on the Web
Steve Buckley, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Is there a remedy for claptrap like the BMJ article?
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
Mostly Rivas gets rid of distracting racist, sexist or classist claptrap in the script, annoyances that have nothing to do with its plot.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2024
But one is accustomed to hearing this claptrap from the right-wing fringe, not from anyone reaching Johnson’s elevated position in the government.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for claptrap 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Many Red Sox fans have had it up to here with that building-for-the-future claptrap, so much so that expectations were scary low coming into the 2024 season.
—Steve Buckley, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Is there a remedy for claptrap like the BMJ article?
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
Mostly Rivas gets rid of distracting racist, sexist or classist claptrap in the script, annoyances that have nothing to do with its plot.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2024
But one is accustomed to hearing this claptrap from the right-wing fringe, not from anyone reaching Johnson’s elevated position in the government.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for claptrap
Dictionary Entries Near claptrap
Cite this Entry
“Claptrap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/claptrap. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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