ballyhoo
Sensationalized public attention
Ballyhoo is loud, extravagant publicity or promotion—the kind of exaggerated fanfare used to drum up attention: Despite all the ballyhoo, the movie flopped.
The word suggests more noise than substance, hype that may not deliver.
As a verb, to ballyhoo something is to promote it aggressively: They ballyhooed the product launch for months.
Noisy uproar or fuss
- uproarNoisy public disturbance
- clamorLoud persistent noise
- ruckusNoisy, disruptive commotion
- kerfuffleNoisy fuss or disturbance
tumult · brouhaha · fuss · ado · to-do · stir · flap · hubbub
Continuous low drone
- publicityMedia-driven awareness
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- marketingPromoting goods to consumers
advertising · buildup · fanfare · showmanship · puffery · pitch · plug · blitz
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- inflationSustained price level increase
puffery · magnification · dramatization · boasting · braggadocio · grandiloquence · stretching · overkill
Elaborate ceremonial display
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- fanfareCeremonial brass announcement
- pompOstentatious display of dignity
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
gala · extravaganza · display · show · celebration · procession · flourish · heraldry
hullabaloo
Noisy uproar or fuss
kerfuffle · tumult · brouhaha · fuss · ado · to-do · stir · flap · hubbub · pandemonium
buzz
Continuous low drone
- publicityMedia-driven awareness
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- promotionRank increase or publicity
marketing · advertising · buildup · fanfare · showmanship · puffery · pitch · plug · blitz · splash
hyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
inflation · puffery · magnification · dramatization · boasting · braggadocio · grandiloquence · stretching · overkill · distortion
pageantry
Elaborate ceremonial display
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- fanfareCeremonial brass announcement
- pompOstentatious display of dignity
ceremony · gala · extravaganza · display · show · celebration · procession · flourish · heraldry · cavalcade
hogwash
Foolish or untrue talk
- balderdashSenseless talk or writing
- malarkeyInsincere foolish talk
- bunkNonsense or stacked bed
poppycock · claptrap · hooey · twaddle · baloney · codswallop · bunkum · tommyrot · drivel · rubbish
houndfish
Large, elongated marine predator
- needlefishSlim fish, piercing jaws
- halfbeakFish with projecting lower jaw
- flyingfishGill-breather with wing-fins
saury · garfish · skipper · Atlantic · billfish · gamefish · trolling · baitfish · reef · tropical
- circuscircus, big top, clown, clowns, ringmaster
- commotioncommotion, clamor, brouhaha, bedlam, hullabaloo
- fussado, bother, commotion, fussing, hassle
- baitfishanchovy, menhaden, sardine, shiner, minnow
- Caribbean fishbarracuda, grouper, snapper, parrotfish, angelfish
- fishing baitworm, worms, nightcrawlers, nightcrawler, live bait
ballyhooquiet
Lacking in sound
silence · stillness · hush · peace · tranquility
ballyhoounderstatement
Intentional diminishment for effect
restraint · modesty · subtlety · discretion · reticence
ballyhoocriticism
Judgment of faults
censure · denunciation · condemnation · disparagement · decry