Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
First appears c. the early 1500s, and first found in The Defense of the Aunswere to the Admonition, against the Replie of T. C., a pamphlet (1574) by John Whitgift (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604). Made popular and particularly known from the title of the comedy play Much Ado About Nothing (1598) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare had earlier used ado (“business, activity”) in the play Romeo and Juliet (1592) Weele keepe no great adoe, a Friend or two, though it is now frequently used to mean fuss as a contraction of the phrase here; nothing in the title of the play is a wordplay which can also mean noting (“to notice”) besides the usual meaning of nothing.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian много шум за нищо
- много шум за нищо (mnogo šum za ništo)a lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Chinese Mandarin 瞎折騰 /瞎折腾
- 瞎折騰 /瞎折腾 (xiā zhēteng)a lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Czech hora porodila myš, mnoho povyku pro nic
- hora porodila myša lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- mnoho povyku pro nica lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- bouře ve sklenici vodya lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Esperanto multa bruo pri nenio
- multa bruo pri nenioa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Finnish paljon melua tyhjästä
- paljon melua tyhjästäa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
French beaucoup de bruit pour rien
- beaucoup de bruit pour riena lot of fuss over a trivial matter
German viel Lärm um nichts, viel Geschrei und wenig Wolle
- viel Lärm um nichtsa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- viel Geschrei und wenig Wollea lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Hungarian sok hűhó semmiért
- sok hűhó semmiérta lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Irish duifean mór ar bheagán fearthainne, glór mór ar bheagán cúise
- duifean mór ar bheagán fearthainnea lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- glór mór ar bheagán cúisea lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- mórán cainte ar bheagán cúisea lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Italian tanto rumore per nulla
- tanto rumore per nullaa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Japanese 空騒ぎ
- 空騒ぎ (karasawagi)a lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Polish (robić) wiele hałasu o nic, z dużej chmury mały deszcz
- (robić) wiele hałasu o nica lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- z dużej chmury mały deszcza lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Portuguese tempestade em copo d'água, tempestade num copo d'água
- tempestade em copo d'águaa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
- tempestade num copo d'águaa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Russian мно́го шу́ма из ничего́
- мно́го шу́ма из ничего́ (mnógo šúma iz ničevó)a lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Scottish Gaelic mòran othail air beagan cùis
- mòran othail air beagan cùisa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Spanish mucho ruido y pocas nueces
- mucho ruido y pocas nuecesa lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Swedish mycket väsen för ingenting
- mycket väsen för ingentinga lot of fuss over a trivial matter
Cite this entry
much ado about nothing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/much%20ado%20about%20nothing
“much ado about nothing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/much%20ado%20about%20nothing. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “much ado about nothing,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/much%20ado%20about%20nothing.
Source: much ado about nothing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.