to tittle-tattle
1
9.1
- verb
- /ˈtɪtəlˌtætəl/
- Archaic
- He tittle-tattles every time he visits the office, spreading the latest rumors.
Examples
-
Please stop tittle-tattling and tell me something important.
-
The children tittle-tattled about their classmates all through recess.
-
She loves to tittle-tattle with her friends.
-
Why do you always tittle-tattle during meetings?
-
He tittle-tattles about everyone at the party, sharing the juiciest bits of gossip.
-
Can you avoid tittle-tattling and focus on the task at hand, please?
-
During lunch, the coworkers tittle-tattled about the latest office drama.
Synonyms
53
1.3
To talk about other people's private lives and share rumors
45
2.7
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
33
7.4
To tell secrets without thinking
11
8.4
To talk on and on in a silly way about unimportant things
11
6.8
Talk about an idea or name without careful thought
9
7.8
To talk too much and tell secrets carelessly
7
4.1
To talk in a friendly, light way about unimportant things
5
6.6
To talk for a long time about small boring things
5
7.1
To talk a lot about small unimportant things, often about other people
2
9.9
To talk for a long time about things that do not matter
2
8.5
To tell private or bad things about someone to other people
1
9.4
To talk for a long time about unimportant things
1
7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
1
7.4
Often tells secrets or small mistakes about other people
1
9.9
To talk in a slow, unclear way about unimportant things
1
9.9
To talk or act in a silly, unimportant way
1
8.4
To talk quickly about small, unimportant things
To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a silly way
How Gossipy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tittle-tattle comes from a playful repeat of tattle, which means 'to gossip', with tittle added to show the talk is about 'small' things. So to tittle-tattle is to chatter quickly about unimportant matters.