applause

American  

[uh-plawz] / əˈplɔz /

noun

1. hand clapping as a demonstration of approval, appreciation, acclamation, or the like.

2. any positive expression of appreciation or approval; acclamation.

   Synonyms:

   praise, plaudit, acclaim

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applause British  

/ əˈplɔːz /

noun

1. appreciation or praise, esp as shown by clapping the hands

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Other Word Forms

• self-applause
  noun
• applausive
  adjective
• unapplausive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of applause

1590–1600; < Latin applausus struck upon, applauded (past participle of applaudere ), equivalent to ap- ap- ¹ + plaud- clap + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

After a theatrical performance, audience members typically use applause, or hand-clapping, to express their approval. (Of course, sometimes applause just means the audience is glad it’s time to go home.) Back in ancient Rome, actors requested applause from the audience by declaring “Plaudite!” This fact sheds light on the origin of applause — and it definitively proves that performers have been seeking approval from audiences for millennia. Oddly enough, however, it’s considered inappropriate to applaud between the movements of a piece of classical music, regardless of how much you enjoyed the performance. Some concertgoers choose to defy this rule, in spite of the nasty looks they get from neighbors.

Example Sentences

A solid and substantial Greatness of Soul looks down with a generous Neglect on the Censures and Applauses of the Multitude, and places a Man beyond the little Noise and Strife of Tongues.

From The Spectator, Volume 2. by Addison, Joseph

He came to Wolfembuttle to receive the Applauses of his Master,74 and to rest himself after the Fatigues he had undergone in his important Negotiations.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

He who affects the Applauses and Addresses of a Multitude, or assumes to himself a Pre-eminence upon any other Consideration, must soon turn Admiration into Contempt.

From The Spectator, Volume 2. by Addison, Joseph

The deserving Man, who can now recommend himself to the Esteem of but half his Countrymen, will then receive the Approbations and Applauses of a whole Age.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph

She does not receive any Satisfaction from the Applauses which she gives her self, but from the Admiration which she raises in others.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph

Related Words

• acclaim
• accolade
• kudos
• ovation
• praise
• standing ovation