Brouhaha Meaning
/ˈbɹuː.hɑː.hɑː/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA stir; a fuss or uproar.
Sentence Examples
It caused quite a brouhaha when the school suspended one of its top students for refusing to adhere to the dress code.
The minor incident caused a major brouhaha in the local community.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The politician's comment caused a huge ____ in the media.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was a massive ____ in the media after the celebrity made a controversial statement.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French brouhaha, but disputed as to where from before that. Possibly from Hebrew בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא (barúkh habá, “welcome”, literally “blessed is he who comes”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For as they were maneuvering the cylinder onto a dolly, it split and dumped one ton of chlorine trifluoride onto the floor. It chewed its way through twelve inches of concrete and dug a three-foot hole in the gravel underneath, filled the place with fumes which corroded everything in sight, and, in general, made one hell of a mess. Civil Defense turned out, and started to evacuate the neighborhood, and to put it mildly, there was quite a brouhaha before things quieted down. Miraculously, nobody was killed, but there was one casualty — the man who had been steadying the cylinder when it split. He was found some five hundred feet away, where he had reached Mach 2 and was still picking up speed when he was stopped by a heart attack."
— 1972, John Drury Clark, “Halogens and Politics and Deep Space”, in Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 74:
"Talk, it's only talk / Babble, burble, banter / Bicker, bicker, bicker / Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo / It's only talk / Back talk"
— 1981, “Elephant Talk”, in Discipline, performed by King Crimson:
"In the brouhaha over the reappointment of Superior Court Judge Sylvia Pressler, we organized massive support - telegramming, telephoning and writing to encourage the State Senate to exercise its advise and consent function responsibly."
— 1984 August 5, “Women Lawyers Unit Describes Its Role”, in The New York Times:
"What's all the fanfare, what's the to do / We're known to bring the hullabaloo / On stage or at the spa / Guaranteed we bring the brouhaha / ‘Cause it's a brouhaha"
— 1999, “The Brouhaha”, in Hello Nasty, performed by Beastie Boys:
"Ms. Rousseau, a senior member of the Europe Écologie-Les Verts party, said in an interview that she was surprised by the sizzling brouhaha."
— 2022 September 5, Roger Cohen, “Of Barbecues and Men: A Summer Storm Brews Over Virility in France”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The politician's comment caused a huge ____ in the media.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was a massive ____ in the media after the celebrity made a controversial statement.