polite applause
Lukewarm audience response
Polite applause is the restrained clapping that follows a performance or speech that failed to genuinely impress.
It fulfills social obligation without expressing enthusiasm—the audience equivalent of a tight smile.
The phrase often appears in stage directions or event descriptions: The joke landed with polite applause.
To damn with polite applause is to signal tepid reception.
- clappingRhythmic palm strikes
- tepidMildly warm, lacking intensity
- courteousShowing respectful consideration
- lukewarmMildly warm temperature
- obligatoryRequired by rule
scattered · golf tournament · audience · reception · restrained · muted · formal · perfunctory · half-hearted · decorum · acknowledgment · theater · curtain call · encore · hands · appreciation · dignified · reserved
- audience behaviorcheering, clapping, booing, standing ovation, singing along
- praiselauding, compliments, laudation, accolades, great job
polite applausestanding ovation
Applause while risen
thunderous applause · rapturous applause · wild applause · roaring applause · golf clap
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