clapping vs approval

clapping and approval both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
clapping	Yes	No	No	No
approval	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, approval is a hypernym of clapping; that is, approval is a word with a broader meaning than clapping:

Other hypernyms of clapping include commendation.

clapping (noun)	approval (noun)
a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together	the formal act of approving
	a message expressing a favorable opinion
	a feeling of liking something or someone good
	acceptance as satisfactory