brouhaha

[ broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah ]

/ ˈbru hɑˌhɑ, ˌbru hɑˈhɑ, bruˈhɑ hɑ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brouhaha ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo: The brouhaha followed disclosures of graft at City Hall.

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.

Nearby words

brough, brougham, brought, brought-on, broughta, brouhaha, broun, brouwer, brouwer fixed-point theorem, brow, brow antler

Origin of brouhaha

1885–90; < French, orig. brou, ha, ha! exclamation used by characters representing the devil in the 16th-cent. drama; perhaps < Hebrew, distortion of the recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshēm ădhōnai) “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” (Ps. 118:26)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for brouhaha

Then came the book tour, and the brouhaha following that NPR interview.
Isabel Allende’s Controversial New Thriller|Jane Ciabattari|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to the blog, she soon “backtracked” on her comments, deleting the Facebook thread, and calling the brouhaha “childish.”
An Absurd Push for Separation of Religion and State in Canada|Mira Sucharov|November 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As Eleanor Clift recently lamented, the brouhaha in Congress over food stamps is not just about budgets.
Supreme Court on Gay Marriage, Voting Rights, and More|Lloyd Green|June 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Abraham Foxman, the national director of Anti-Defamation League, reacting to the Bieber brouhaha, said as much.
OK, Anne Frank COULD Have Been a Belieber|Kevin Fallon|April 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Sino-Japanese frictions would be on the uptick about now even without the Diaoyu brouhaha.
China Is Protesting, Too|Melinda Liu|September 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was then I realized the Chief was still sitting in his chair, where he had been when the brouhaha started.
Arm of the Law|Harry Harrison
From afar the rumors of revelry, the brouhaha of a mad population, saluted his deaf ears, the distant music of lutes and viols.
Dreamers of the Ghetto|I. Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for brouhaha

brouhaha

/ (ˈbruːhɑːhɑː) /

noun

a loud confused noise; commotion; uproar

Word Origin for brouhaha

French, of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012