brouhaha

noun

brou·​ha·​ha ˈbrü-ˌhä-ˌhä 

ˌbrü-ˌhä-ˈhä,

brü-ˈhä-ˌhä

: hubbub, uproar

A brouhaha erupted over her statements.

Did you know?

The English language borrowed brouhaha directly from French in the late 18th century, but its origins beyond that are uncertain—not quite the subject of noisy brouhaha but perhaps more modest debate. What’s less arguable is that brouhaha is fun to say, as are many of its synonyms, including hubbub, williwaw, hullabaloo, bobbery, and kerfuffle. And many of these, also like brouhaha, tend to suggest a certain judgment that the reason for all the foofaraw is a bit silly, or at least not worth getting all worked up about. A dad joke, for example, might raise some brouhaha, even though it’s really no reason for an uproar to brew. Haha!

Examples of brouhaha in a Sentence

A brouhaha erupted over her statements about the president.

There's been a lot of brouhaha about her statements.

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, despite the brouhaha over the issue, there are in fact, few transgender women playing in major sports leagues. —Nina Totenberg, NPR, 3 July 2025

So with all of the brouhaha around Thinking Machine Labs, who is its fearless leader? —John Werner, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025

The brief brouhaha was the end to a night that saw the Giants go 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Hayden Birdsong allow five runs (four earned) over 4 1/3 innings and Christian Koss ground into two double plays with the bases loaded. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 21 June 2025

This season, Clark was already knocked down in brouhahas with opponents. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

French

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

brouhaha

noun

brou·​ha·​ha

ˈbrü-ˌhä-ˌhä

: uproar, hubbub