to tittle-tattle
- verb
- /ˈtɪtəlˌtætəl/
- Archaic
:
chismear
- 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
86
2.7
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
27
1.3
To talk about other people's private lives and share rumors
21
7.4
To tell secrets without thinking
11
6.8
Talk about an idea or name without careful thought
9
8.4
To talk on and on in a silly way about unimportant things
6
7.8
To talk too much and tell secrets carelessly
5
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
3
8.4
To talk quickly about small, unimportant things
1
7.1
To talk a lot about small unimportant things, often about other people
1
7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
1
9.9
To talk for a long time about things that do not matter
1
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
To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a silly way
To talk in a slow, unclear way about unimportant things
Often tells secrets or small mistakes about other people
To talk or act in a silly, unimportant 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.