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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of claptrap
George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Many Red Sox fans have had it up to here with that building-for-the-future claptrap, so much so that expectations were scary low coming into the 2024 season.
—Steve Buckley, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Mostly Rivas gets rid of distracting racist, sexist or classist claptrap in the script, annoyances that have nothing to do with its plot.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for claptrap
Noun
Third, despite Trump’s claptrap, plenty of fresh delta water is being pumped south to fill fire hydrants and the tanks of firefighting aircraft.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Many Red Sox fans have had it up to here with that building-for-the-future claptrap, so much so that expectations were scary low coming into the 2024 season.
—Steve Buckley, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Mostly Rivas gets rid of distracting racist, sexist or classist claptrap in the script, annoyances that have nothing to do with its plot.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for claptrap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for claptrap
Noun
-
Crucially, the eggs were fittingly fluffy, none of that rubbery nonsense that plague lesser burrito slingers.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
6 Nov. 2025
-
All’s Fair is girlboss nonsense.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Driving through deep water can also affect a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Analysts also point out that the global supply of key components such as DRAM chips for consumer electronics, NAND flash chips for SSDs, and mechanical hard drives has all been constrained by the voracious demand from AI data centers.—
,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The burger was never refrigerated and spent most of its life in cupboards, garbage bags and sheds.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Beijing — When Ho Puay-peng first visited Beijing’s Forbidden City in the late 1980s, the Singaporean architect saw many of the historic courtyards used for storage, filled with garbage, and occupied by danwei (government offices).—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Susan Shelley of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association blasted the pork-project spending as hypocritical, especially as some liberal groups and lawmakers support raising taxes or turning to voters to pass new bonds to prop up the state’s shaky finances.—
Wire Report,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Advertisement Of course, there is such a thing as being too bad—and too hypocritical.—
Shadi Hamid,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
When firefighters arrived at the scene, multiple cars and piles of rubbish were on fire.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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One hurdle for these editors is that far-right hate is more conducive to digital slop, both because algorithms prize outlandish ragebait and because the tribalistic ideas themselves are low IQ rubbish.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The others are just underwritten pawns in a contrived mystery.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Cheney consistently pushed that intelligence, which was later proven to be faulty and at times politically contrived.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In a recording shared by his family, Dailey recounted driving his 2002 silver Dodge Dakota up the Swamp Lake Trail, reaching the top safely and stopping to snack on some jerky and a handful of nuts, ABC News reported.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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The crew can now prepare ingredients like nuts, cakes, and fresh vegetables using the oven and other cooking tools.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Without the artist, the law becomes meaningless.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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On Saturday, a group of Texas A&M fans gathered in a hole in the LSU student section and did some of LSU’s cheers after the Tigers scored a meaningless touchdown in the final moments.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Claptrap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/claptrap. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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