clickbait

What is the opposite of clickbait? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.

Noun — Online content, especially a headline or thumbnail, written to tempt people into clicking rather than to inform them, usually by withholding the point or overstating it.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun informal

Online content, especially a headline or thumbnail, written to tempt people into clicking rather than to inform them, usually by withholding the point or overstating it.

“The site survives on clickbait headlines that never deliver.”

bait headline hype teaser

2. adjective

Designed chiefly to attract clicks rather than to be accurate or useful.

“That is a clickbait title for a fairly dull study.”

sensational misleading attention-grabbing

How to use clickbait

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

clickbait headline pure clickbait clickbait title clickbait thumbnail dismissed as clickbait

Always disapproving; a mass noun, so write a lot of clickbait rather than many clickbaits.

Etymology

A compound of click, as in clicking a link, and bait, something used to lure.

Full origin of clickbait →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between clickbait and a good headline?

A good headline promises what the article actually delivers and enough of it to help the reader choose. Clickbait deliberately holds the payoff back or exaggerates it, so the click is the goal rather than the reader being informed.

Is all sensational writing clickbait?

No. Clickbait specifically depends on a gap between what the link promises and what it provides. A story can be dramatic and still be honest about its content.

What is rage bait compared with clickbait?

Rage bait is a subtype that provokes anger to drive comments and shares, whereas clickbait more broadly exploits curiosity. Both aim at engagement rather than at informing the reader.

People also searched

misleading hype sensational teaser

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of clickbait