Standard Lemma guide

prattle

noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpɹætəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ætəl
  • CMU ARPABET: P R AE1 T AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Silly, childish talk; babble.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: absurdity, all my eye, all my eye and Betty Martin, applesauce, bafflegab, balderdash, balls, baloney, banana oil, Bandini, baragouin, batcrap, batshit, bilgewater, blah, blather, blatherskite, bobbins, bollocks, bosh, BS, bull, bullcrap, bulldust, bull feathers, bullshit, bullspeak, bunk, bunkum, bushwah, clamjamfrey, claptrap, cobblers, codswallop, crap, crock, crock of shit, double Dutch, double talk, doublespeak, dribble, drivel, eyewash, fiddle-faddle, flapdoodle, flim-flam, flizz, flummery, folderol, foolishness, footle, framis, fuckery, fuckry, fudge, galimatias, Gallophone, garbage, garble, gash, gibber, gibberish, gobbledygook, gossip, Greek, guff, gup, hoax, hocus-pocus, hogwash, hokum, hooey, horse cock, horsefeathers, horse hockey, horse piss, horse puckey, horseshit, humbug, Irish bull, jabber, jabberwocky, jargon, jibber-jabber, jimjam, jive, junk, lallation, macaroni, malarkey, manure, meaninglessness, moonshine, mumbo jumbo, nertz, nonsense, pie in the sky, piffle, pigswill, poppycock, prattle, put-on, rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb, rigmarole, rot, rubbish, ruse, santorum, shit, shite, skimble-skamble, squit, stuff, stuff and nonsense, tommy-rot, tosh, trittle trattle, tush, trash, tripe, twaddle, wass, whiff-whaff, word salad, babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blathering, chatter, chinwag, chit-chat, claver, clepe, gabble, hot air, mardle, natter, palaver, prate, scuttlebutt, small talk, tattle, waffle, yackety-yak, yap, yatter

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To speak incessantly and in an inconsequential or childish manner; to babble.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

idle or foolish and irrelevant talk

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prate, idle talk, blether, chin music

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: yak, yack, yakety-yak, chatter, cackle

4

verb

Meaning 4

speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chatter, piffle, palaver, prate, tittle-tattle, twaddle, clack, maunder, blab, gibber, tattle, blabber, gabble

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: talk, speak, utter, mouth, verbalize, verbalise

Narrower terms: babble, blather, smatter, blether, blither

History

Etymology

From prate + -le (early modern English frequentative suffix). Compare Dutch pruttelen and Dutch preutelen (“to mutter”).

Across languages

Translations

56 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Asturian: esbabaye — babble
  • Bulgarian: бърборене (bǎrborene) — babble
  • Danish: pludren — babble
  • Finnish: pälätys — babble
  • German: Geplapper — babble
  • Ancient Greek: λάλημα (lálēma) — babble
  • Ancient Greek: λαλαγή (lalagḗ) — babble
  • Irish: gliogar — babble
  • Irish: cabaireacht — babble
  • Norwegian: bable — babble
  • Russian: ле́пет (lépet) — babble
  • Russian: болтовня́ (boltovnjá) — babble
  • Scottish Gaelic: goileam — babble
  • Swedish: pladder — babble
  • Swedish: joller — babble
  • Arabic: بَقَّ (baqqa) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Asturian: esbabayar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Bulgarian: бърборя (bǎrborja) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Czech: plkat — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Danish: plapre — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Danish: pludre — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Dutch: ratelen — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Finnish: pälättää — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • French: bavarder — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Galician: laretar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Galician: esbardallar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Galician: barballar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Galician: barallar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Georgian: ტიტინი (ṭiṭini) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Georgian: ტიკტიკი (ṭiḳṭiḳi) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Georgian: ყბედობა (q̇bedoba) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Georgian: ლაქლაქი (laklaki) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • German: schwatzen — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Greek: φλυαρώ (flyaró) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Greek: κελαηδώ (kelaïdó) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Ancient Greek: φλυαρέω (phluaréō) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Hungarian: csacsog — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Irish: bí ag cabaireacht — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Latin: garriō — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Lithuanian: vapalioti — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Macedonian: ломоти (lomoti) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Māori: pahupahu — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Māori: hautete — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Māori: hote — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Māori: tarawhete — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Polish: paplać — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Polish: bajtlować — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Polish: zbajtlować — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Portuguese: tagarelar — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Russian: лепета́ть (lepetátʹ) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Russian: болта́ть (boltátʹ) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Russian: трепа́ться (trepátʹsja) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Sanskrit: लपति (lapati) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Telugu: ప్రేలు (prēlu) — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Vietnamese: bập bẹ — to talk incessantly; to babble
  • Vietnamese: bi bô — to talk incessantly; to babble