to garble

Examples

• All

• "Somebody better be dead." Jeffrey's voice was garbled, and she assumed he was using his cellular phone.

  Fiction book (2002)

• The rest of the transmission is garbled.

  Ice Station Zebra (1968)

• No communication for six hours, then garbled calls for help.

  Ice Station Zebra (1968)

• If you try to tell 'em who you are, it comes out all garbled up.

  R.I.P.D. (2013)

• I think it was garbled in transmission.

  Patton (1970)

• She'd been told to meet the caravan on a street corner, but the message was garbled and she waited in a hotel lobby.

  Academic text (2005)

• Because of the haphazard method in which these lines were hung, the messages sent over them were frequently garbled.

  Academic text (1993)

• For the time being, I told Margaret that the niece must have garbled your name or something, for this can't be you.

  Fiction book (1996)

• The message was garbled during the phone call, making it hard to understand what he meant.

• She accidentally garbled the instructions, causing confusion among the team.

Synonyms

T

to twist

vsto garble

144 6.3

To change what someone said to make it mean something different, often to mislead

alters or omits parts to make the original message unclear

A

to alter

vsto garble

101 7.9

To change a text by adding words, often to make it false

can also make meaning unclear but focuses on physical text changes

D

to distort

vsto garble

97 4.6

To change facts so they become false or misleading

makes a message unclear or misleading by altering or omitting parts

F

to falsify

vsto garble

• Formal

44 7.3

To make documents or facts not true to deceive people

often instead makes spoken or written content unclear rather than forged

W

to warp

vsto garble

30 7.4

To change facts or stories so they are not true

distorts mainly by making the message unclear rather than simply false

O

to obfuscate

vsto garble

• Formal

17 9.1

To make facts or information unclear on purpose

involves altering or omitting parts so the message becomes misleading

F

to fudge

vsto garble

11 7.5

To change numbers or facts dishonestly to hide the truth

tends to make the message unclear by leaving out or altering parts

M

to mischaracterize

vsto garble

• US

10 8.0

To describe a person or thing unfairly

focuses more on making the message unclear through omission or change

T

to twist around

vsto garble

1 6.4

Change words or facts to make a person look bad

works by removing or altering details so the message becomes unclear

F

to fudge the details

vsto garble

• Informal

7.7

Change facts on purpose to make something seem better

is about making a message unclear or misleading by altering content

Antonyms

C

to clarify

248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

How Distorted

to mangle

19 7.2

to butcher

• Informal

35 3.7

to garble

8 8.0

to misstate

14 6.2

Surface Forms

Etymology