as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
the idea that you can get a cold from not dressing warmly is claptrap
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in mechanical
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Recent Examples of claptrap
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
One is that a Kennedy candidacy that gains any real traction alone will increase the political credibility of anti-vax claptrap, which already has more than enough.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
That meant rolling home with bloody scrapes full of gravel past old farmhouses cheap enough for mailmen and jazz musicians to buy, build claptrap chicken coops and grow weed in the backyard.
—Daniel Duane, New York Times, 30 May 2023
In ours, though, bureaucrats, corporations, and risk managers seem to have grasped that engaging in critical claptrap about popular culture – Marx’s ‘ruthless criticism of all that exists’ – asks easier gestures of them than the work of real administration.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for claptrap
Noun
But one is accustomed to hearing this claptrap from the right-wing fringe, not from anyone reaching Johnson’s elevated position in the government.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
One is that a Kennedy candidacy that gains any real traction alone will increase the political credibility of anti-vax claptrap, which already has more than enough.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
That meant rolling home with bloody scrapes full of gravel past old farmhouses cheap enough for mailmen and jazz musicians to buy, build claptrap chicken coops and grow weed in the backyard.
—Daniel Duane, New York Times, 30 May 2023
In ours, though, bureaucrats, corporations, and risk managers seem to have grasped that engaging in critical claptrap about popular culture – Marx’s ‘ruthless criticism of all that exists’ – asks easier gestures of them than the work of real administration.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for claptrap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for claptrap
Noun
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First off, the bulk of the trailer is Shrek and company scrolling through fantasy TikTok courtesy of the magic mirror, which shows dancing Shrek, shirtless Shrek and other nonsense, apparently posted by Pinocchio.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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Spouted a bunch of nonsense conspiracy theories about who’s getting Social Security benefits.—
Brian Barrett,
WIRED,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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When first announced in 2011, the Aston Martin Cygnet piqued global interest: a tiny sub 845kg (curb weight) hatchback with Aston mechanical gubbins.—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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All of this noise is most likely the result of the boards on your wooden frame rubbing together and causing chemical adhesives (such as glues) to break down and create more friction than usual, says Skyler Dalley, PhD, mechanical engineer at Equilateral Product Innovations.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Crews wearing hazmat suits shoveled mounds of ash into plastic garbage bags.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2025
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Hegseth calls new names 'garbage' Hegseth already signaled his intention to revert the original, Confederate names of two bases.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine won Vladimir Putin a certain admiration in countries of the global South, as well as among MAGA Americans, while Joe Biden’s appeals to democratic values seemed pallid and hypocritical.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2025
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But the weekly shows cut much deeper by undermining trust in the process and repeatedly placing the committee chair in position to look hypocritical from one week to the next.—
Jon Wilner,
The Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The property also grows its own herbs, greens, nuts, berries, and edible flowers.—
Bianca Salonga,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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Focus on whole foods like fruits, leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
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View 6 Images Unlike cats, our vision is pretty rubbish in very low light conditions.—
Paul Ridden,
New Atlas,
17 Jan. 2025
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On the evening of January 14, a woman was arrested after allegedly setting multiple piles of rubbish and trash on fire, Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said at a news conference last week.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But that is all quite contrived; pretending this was anything other than a worrying night for Kompany would be disingenuous.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
The Athletic,
18 Feb. 2025
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Eric Dane is cast as Weaving’s bodyguard and only hope of escaping the contrived wedding planned by her obsessed fan.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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For some readers, such accolades read as insincere or overwrought.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 Feb. 2025
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Honest criticism is rude, and insincere praise is — well, insincere.—
Judith Martin,
The Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Claptrap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/claptrap. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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