hoopla

noun

hoop·​la ˈhü-ˌplä  ˈhu̇- 

plural hooplas

1

chiefly US, informal + often disapproving : excited or agitated commotion or activity : bustle

… make sure that children who have birthdays around the holidays don't get their birthday celebration lost in the holiday hoopla.

—Samara Kalk Derby

Seville is a place that offers many artists who call it home a chance to work quietly, away from the hoopla of Madrid.

—Deborah Gimelson

The reality star who each year makes a big hoopla as she turns one year older …

—Rebecca Cukier

also : agitated, excited, or angry discussion : fuss

… despite all the hoopla about susceptibility of automobile companies to … hacking, this is yet another … exploit that (would have) required hands-on intervention to succeed.

—David Booth

2

chiefly US, informal + often disapproving : extravagant promotion or publicity : ballyhoo

Watch out for hoopla surrounding the fourth Batman movie, which hits theaters this summer.

—Zillions

The November arrival of the nouveau on these shores … was accompanied by the normal amount of hoopla and hype intended to whip up consumer interest in the young wine.

—Terry Robards

also : an event or occasion featuring hoopla

Music fans have become incredibly savvy about the big live hooplas and announcements …

—Jim Carroll

"San Diego [Comic Con] is a big hoopla," [Alan] Pamoleras said …

—Jessica Dolcourt

Did you know?

In French, the interjection houp-là is used roughly the same way as English's upsy-daisy or whoops-a-daisy, as one might say when picking up a child. (This usage can be found in English, too, in such works as Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons and James Joyce's Ulysses.) When the word was borrowed into American English, however, it was to refer to a kind of bustling commotion, and later, as a term for sensationalist hype. In the early 20th century, another hoopla was in use as well. Playing on the syllable hoop, that word gave its name to a ring-toss game played at carnivals.

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of hoopla in a Sentence

Many people have grown tired of all the hoopla surrounding the opening of the new theater.

for all of the hoopla, very little news emerged from the governor's press conference this afternoon

Recent Examples on the Web

Such efforts would signal to many, perhaps especially to those who have historically been excluded from the sport, that the Kentucky Derby and the hoopla and culture surrounding it can be for anyone. —TIME, 4 May 2024

The Ferrari actress and Bardem, who won an Oscar himself for his role in No Country for Old Men, have tried to shield their children from cell phones, social media and all the hoopla surrounding Hollywood. —Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 28 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French houp-là, interjection

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

hoopla

noun

hoop·​la

ˈhü-ˌplä,

ˈhu̇-

informal

1

: bustle

also : fuss

—often used disapprovingly

2

: extravagant claims made for publicity

—often used disapprovingly