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to gabble

to gabble

1 7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
  • verb
  • /ˈɡæbəl/
translation icon : hablar rápidamente
  • At the party, the guests were gabbling about trivial things, leaving the host overwhelmed.
  • began to gabble

Examples

  • From what I can tell, listening to them gabble over the last couple of days, every one of your sister's college friends has a crush on you.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • On a radio somewhere, a disc jockey is gabbling incomprehensibly.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • You can gabble all you want then.

  • Three voices gabbled in response, soon joined by two more.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Don't stand there gabbling all night.

  • But just as the doors were closing, two younger girls came hurtling in, laughing and gabbling away to each other.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Sounds of children kicking a ball on the other side of the square returned to him, some women gabbling brightly as they walked by.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • "You're quite right," he almost gabbled in his haste.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Nadia begins gabbling to Yuri in Russian.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The children were gabbling excitedly about their day at school.

Synonyms

to chatter
vsto gabble
86 2.7

To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things

is faster and often makes speech hard to understand
to babble
vsto gabble
75 4.4

Talk quickly in a silly way that is hard to understand

focuses on trivial topics rather than playful silliness
to ramble
vsto gabble
  • Informal
48 5.3

To talk or write for a long time without a clear point

is quicker and more about unclear speech than aimless length
to ramble on
vsto gabble
  • Informal
15 6.2

Talk for a long time in an unclear way about small unimportant things

is quicker and often makes words hard to understand rather than aimless
to yammer
vsto gabble
  • Informal
14 9.0

Talk loudly for a long time while complaining

is quicker and often harder to understand rather than loud complaining
to blather
vsto gabble
  • Informal
12 8.0

To talk a lot in a silly way that makes little sense

is quicker and more likely to make speech hard to follow
to prattle
vsto gabble
9 8.4

To talk on and on in a silly way about unimportant things

is quicker and often harder to understand than long foolish speech
to jabber
vsto gabble
  • Informal
8 6.5

To talk quickly and excitedly in a way that is hard to understand

is mainly about trivial continuous talk rather than excited speech
to blabber
vsto gabble
  • Informal
6 7.8

To talk too much and tell secrets carelessly

focuses on quick hard to follow speech rather than careless disclosure
to gibber
vsto gabble
5 8.6

To make quick unclear sounds when you are nervous or excited

is used for talking about trivial matters rather than nervous noise
to rattle on
vsto gabble
  • Informal
5 6.6

To talk for a long time about small boring things

is quicker and often makes speech hard to follow instead of dull
to clack
vsto gabble
  • Archaic
3 8.4

To talk quickly about small, unimportant things

is more likely to make speech hard to understand due to speed
to yack
vsto gabble
  • Informal
3 8.8

To talk a lot about unimportant things in an annoying way

is quicker and more likely to be hard to understand
to yap
vsto gabble
  • Informal
2 7.7

To talk a lot in an annoying, noisy way

is faster and often makes speech hard to follow not only loud
to tattle
vsto gabble
  • Informal
1 7.1

To talk a lot about small unimportant things, often about other people

is similar but stresses hard to understand speech rather than gossip
to gab
vsto gabble
  • Informal
1 6.9

To talk a lot about small unimportant things

is quicker and often hard to understand rather than just chatty
to prate
vsto gabble
  • Literature
1 9.9

To talk for a long time about things that do not matter

is quicker and more about unclear speech than long tedious talk
to palaver
vsto gabble
1 9.4

To talk for a long time about unimportant things

is quicker and more hurried rather than elaborate and long
to jibber
vsto gabble
1 9.9

To speak very fast so others cannot understand

focuses on trivial topics rather than only being unintelligible
to yack away
vsto gabble
  • Informal
1 9.1

Talk for a long time in a way that annoys other people

is faster and often harder to understand rather than only annoying
to yabber
vsto gabble
  • Australian
9.9

To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things

is quicker and often hard to understand rather than merely continuous
to bibble
vsto gabble
  • Archaic
9.9

To speak quickly in a confused or silly way

focuses on trivial topics rather than pure incoherence in speech
to twaddle
vsto gabble
  • Archaic
9.0

To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a silly way

is faster and more likely to be hard to understand
to gassing
vsto gabble
  • UK
8.1

To talk a lot about unimportant things

is faster and more likely to be hard to understand
to tittle-tattle
vsto gabble
  • Archaic
9.1

Talk in a light, silly way about other people

is faster and more likely to be hard to follow instead of gossiping
to maunder
vsto gabble
  • UK
9.9

To talk in a slow, unclear way about unimportant things

is faster and more about rapid hard to understand speech than rambling
to piffle
vsto gabble
  • Informal
9.9

To talk or act in a silly, unimportant way

is quicker and usually makes speech hard to follow rather than mere triviality

Antonyms

1.0

Pay attention to sounds or speech to hear and understand them

How Chatty

to gabble
1 7.9
to chatter
86 2.7
to prattle
9 8.4
to gab
  • Informal
1 6.9
to chat
  • Informal
269 1.0
to talk
1.0

Surface Forms

gabble infinitive
gabbled past
gabbled past participle
gabbling present participle
gabbles third person singular

Etymology

Gabble probably comes from the short word gab ('to talk') and sounds like fast, confused speech, just like babble. So, to gabble is to speak quickly and in a way that is hard to understand.