twaddle en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈtwɒdəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈtwɑdəl/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
An alteration of twattle (1556), of unknown origin.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) Empty or silly idle talk or writing; nonsense, rubbish.
You're talking a load of twaddle. Get your facts straight, man!
"What ineffable twaddle!" I cried, slapping the magazine down on the table; "I never read such rubbish in my life."
1887, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Study in Scarlet”, in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward, Lock & Co., part I (Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., […]), chapter II (The Science of Deduction), page 12:I would rather be rude than to listen to twaddle from a man I’ve known.
1907 April, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, The Longest Journey, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, part II (Sawston), page 226:It was her other self who had written that letter. It not only bored, it rather disgusted her real self. "Flippant and silly," said her real self. Yet she knew that she'd send it and she'd always write that kind of twaddle to Nan Pym.
1918 June, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Prelude”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, chapter 12, page 66:I improvised for three or four minutes, speaking complete twaddle in character.
2025 October 28, Arifa Akbar, quoting Meera Syal, “‘I spoke complete twaddle for four minutes’: Meera Syal, Larry Lamb and more on the terror of stage fright”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Still, being unfortunate enough to belong to that small but respectable minority who regard Mr. Tupper's versicular philosophy as superficial and conceited twaddle,—as a new manifestation to these latter days of weakness and sentimentalism under the solemn form of the Oracular,[…].
1858 July 14, “Charlatan Poetry: Martin Farquhar Tupper”, in The National Review, volume 7, number 13, page 162:
- (countable) One who twaddles; a twaddler.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| twoddle | alternative | lexicographic | |
| twaddles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
tattle · gabble · prate · blather · blab · blabbing · twaddle · bavardage · yackety-yak · mardle · babble · hot air · small talk · yatter · chinwag · claver · bibble-babble · scuttlebutt · natter · clepe · palaver · chatter · blathering · chit-chat · yap · waffle · blabber · prattle
Translations (52)
tr zırva (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ru болтовня (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl bajdy (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · no tomprat (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de Geschwurbel (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · no tullprat (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · vo lupükot (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · cmn 胡言乱语 (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · fr fadaise (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ht istwa san sans (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de dummes Zeug (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · cmn 胡说八道 (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · id ocehan (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv babbel (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl farmazony (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl gadanina (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl bzdurzenie (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ca vèrbola (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · nl onzin (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv pladder (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ht sornèt (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv snack (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pt palração (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv dravel (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl paplanina (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de dummes Geschwätz (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · es chorrada (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · da vrøvl (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl brednie (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de Gewäsch (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · no løst prat (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl ględy (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ru трындёж (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · da vås (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · cmn 信口开河 (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · az osturaq (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · ca xerrameca (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · az gop (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv svammel (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de Quatsch (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · uk нісенітниця (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · fi höpötys (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · fi höpinä (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · sv trams (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de Gequassel (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · bg празни приказки (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · no pjatt (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · fr sornette (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · uk пустослів'я (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl ambaje (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · de Geschwätz (Empty or silly idle talk or writing) · pl dyrdymały (Empty or silly idle talk or writing)