gossip and hearsay
- noun
- /ˈɡɑːsɪp ənd ˈhɪrseɪ/
- Informal
:
rumores
- The office was filled with gossip and hearsay about the new manager.
Examples
-
The article was based purely on gossip and hearsay, with no real evidence to support its claims.
-
Her reputation suffered from all the gossip and hearsay circulating in the small town.
-
You shouldn't make important decisions on the basis of gossip and hearsay.
-
Did you hear the gossip and hearsay about Sarah's promotion?
-
The rumors circulating about her are just gossip and hearsay without any solid evidence.
-
Many of the news stories you read online are based on gossip and hearsay rather than verified facts.
-
He dismissed the claims as nothing more than gossip and hearsay, lacking any reliable sources.
Synonyms
868
3.2
Informal conversation about other people that may not be true
853
1.2
A story or piece of news that people pass on but may not be true
184
1.1
Informal talk about other people's private lives, often with rumors
28
7.0
Rumors told by other people that may not be true
27
7.8
Rumors people tell each other about events or people
27
3.5
Rumor spread by people talking rather than by officials
11
8.8
Rumor or gossip, often not confirmed and shared informally
News people share that is not official, often as a rumor
Antonyms
How Reliable
1
3.9
∞
1.0
- Literature
68
1.1
- Informal
- US
74
3.9
29
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both 'gossip' (rumors about people) and 'hearsay' (information passed without verification) denote unverified information, and the conjunction 'and' simply links two synonymous terms. This compositional, tautological pairing is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
Gossip and hearsay brings to mind a small group whispering and passing on stories; gossip is talk about other people and hearsay literally means 'what you hear' from someone else. So the phrase describes unverified 'rumors' passed by word of mouth and not checked for truth.