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prittle-prattle

prittle-prattle

9.7
Light talk about unimportant, silly things people say
  • noun
  • /ˈprɪtəlˌprætəl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : charlas triviales
  • The meeting dissolved into prittle-prattle about office gossip.

Examples

  • She tries to avoid prittle-prattle and prefers meaningful conversation.

  • He was annoyed by the constant prittle-prattle from his younger siblings.

  • Their conversation was just prittle-prattle.

  • I can't stand all this prittle-prattle!

  • He was annoyed by the constant prittle-prattle from his younger siblings.

  • She tries to avoid prittle-prattle and prefers meaningful conversation.

  • The meeting dissolved into prittle-prattle about office gossip.

Synonyms

talk
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
868 3.2

Informal conversation about other people that may not be true

is broader trivial chatter not limited to gossip about others
small talk
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
65 2.1

Polite short talk about simple topics like the weather

is more foolish or pointless rather than socially useful icebreaking talk
poppycock
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
10 9.9

Silly talk that is not true

is milder trivial talk rather than strong absurd claims
chit-chat
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
9 2.8

Short friendly talk about unimportant things

is more silly or pointless instead of social and polite
yadda
vsprittle-prattle
  • Slang
4 9.7

Unimportant repeating talk that gives no useful information

is general trivial talk rather than a conversational filler device
jabbering
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
4 7.9

Fast, unclear talk that is hard to understand

is about trivial content rather than speed or clarity of speech
idle talk
vsprittle-prattle
1 5.8

Casual talk about small, unimportant things, often gossip

emphasizes foolishness rather than merely lacking purpose
chin music
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Talk that is useless and does not help

is general trivial chatter without implying a purpose
monkey talk
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
1 8.9

Silly or unimportant talk that wastes time

is regular trivial chatter not necessarily childish or playful
yakety-yak
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
1 9.7

A lot of noisy talking about not important things

is similar but focuses on content rather than loud nonstop noise
blether
vsprittle-prattle
  • UK
1 9.9

Talk that is silly or not important

is general trivial chatter not focused on gossip
fiddle-faddle
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Silly, unimportant talk that wastes time

is simple trivial conversation not an activity or fuss
yabber
vsprittle-prattle
  • Australian
1 9.5

Light talk between people with little meaning

is about foolish content rather than just informal speech
argle-bargle
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Loud, silly talk that has no useful meaning

is broader trivial chatter without the argument or noise focus
tittle-tattle
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
8.4

Light, silly talk about other people

is broader trivial talk not limited to gossip
bavardage
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
9.9

Light friendly talk about small unimportant things, often gossip

is not only social gossip but any trivial or foolish talk
tarradiddle
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
9.9

Untrue or silly talk that is not important

is plain trivial chatter rather than pretentious nonsense
wish-wash
vsprittle-prattle
  • Archaic
9.5

Unclear or silly talk without any real meaning

is ordinary trivial chatter rather than deliberate nonsense
constant blather
vsprittle-prattle
  • Informal
7.0

Continuous trivial talk that says nothing important

is about trivial content rather than the continuity of speech

Antonyms

188 4.3

The main idea of something said or written

117 3.6

A strong, intense quality in sound, color or feeling

53 2.7

A calm and honest way of speaking or acting that shows you mean what you say

How Trivial

to babble
75 4.4
prittle-prattle
  • Archaic
9.7
to chatter
86 2.7
small talk
  • Informal
65 2.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

prittle-prattle = prittle + prattle (transparent) = prittle + prattle

A reduplicative compound formed from 'prittle' (an echo variant) and 'prattle', both meaning trivial chatter, so the overall meaning is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Prittle-prattle comes from the older word prattle, which is a copy of 'babble', the silly sounds babies make. The repeated form shows a lot of small, unimportant talk, so prittle-prattle means 'trivial or foolish talk'.