claptrap

American  

[klap-trap] / ˈklæpˌtræp /

noun

1. pretentious but insincere or empty language.

   His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap.

   Synonyms:

   bunk, nonsense, hokum, humbug, sham

2. any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public.

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claptrap British  

/ ˈklæpˌtræp /

noun

1. contrived but foolish talk

2. insincere and pretentious talk

   politicians' claptrap

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Etymology

Origin of claptrap

First recorded in 1720–30; clap ¹ + trap ¹

Explanation

Use the word claptrap when you're talking about overblown nonsense. You might read your English professor's new book and secretly feel that it's nothing but claptrap. Writing that's grandiose or boastful is one kind of claptrap, and a ridiculous or absurd speech is another. Most claptrap involves ornate ways of talking or writing, involving rhetorical flourishes and a lack of deep meaning. The word comes from the idea of "a trick to 'catch' applause," and its meaning evolved to mean "showy, cheap talk" and also, to some degree, "nonsense."

Example Sentences

And even as I try to dress it up here with some kind of detached, anthropological pseudo-intellectual claptrap, I’m still jumping straight into the muddy pigpile that’s been going on for weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

A public defender in Virginia said, "I have never heard of any of that claptrap in my jurisdiction."

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2023

It should be crystal clear that this is corporate claptrap.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2022

With irritatingly detached narration from British actress Lesley Manville, we are asked to view Darby’s love life through a prism of statistics and quasi-scientific claptrap.

From Washington Post • May 26, 2020

A recluse story contained more sense, but Royal thought the army part was claptrap.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead