brouhaha

American  

[broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah] / ˈbru hɑˌhɑ, ˌbru hɑˈhɑ, bruˈhɑ hɑ /

noun

1. excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo.

   The brouhaha followed disclosures of graft at City Hall.

2. an episode involving excitement, confusion, turmoil, etc., especially a broil over a minor or ridiculous cause.

   A brouhaha by the baseball players resulted in three black eyes.

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brouhaha British  

/ ˈbruːhɑːhɑː /

noun

1. a loud confused noise; commotion; uproar

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Etymology

Origin of brouhaha

First recorded in 1885–90; from French, originally, brou, ha, ha! exclamation used by characters representing the devil in16th-century drama; perhaps from Hebrew, distortion of the recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshēm ădōnai) “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” (Psalms 118:26)

Explanation

Brouhaha is something that people think is really important that’s actually not important at all, like the brouhaha over some new celebrity gossip. Brouhaha seems like a big deal, but it’s a bunch of baloney. Brouhaha has two meanings, and tons of funny-sounding synonyms. The title of the Shakespeare play gives one meaning: "Much Ado about Nothing." The brouhaha over the latest Hollywood comedy might make you never want to see it. It's just fuss and hullabaloo about a movie that can’t possibly be good anyway. Brouhaha also means a loud noise coming from all over the place, like the brouhaha after a sporting event: hubbub and katzenjammer echoing loudly through the streets.

Example Sentences

Imagine the brouhaha if the appointment had been unannounced, if he had had the job taken from him before he even started.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

Since then, however, and even before this latest brouhaha, the shares have begun to struggle.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

This is something far more daffy and useless: The brouhaha over unrequited affections between Seattle Mariners at the World Baseball Classic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

With the Greenland brouhaha sidelined for now, investors can look ahead to a big week of earnings as about a fifth of S&P 500 companies will report, including four of the Magnificent Seven.

From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026

Russian composers like Tchaikovsky mostly treated the brouhaha surrounding Wagner’s music dramas with disdain.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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