Standard Lemma guide

twaddle

name · noun · verb · 6 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtwɒdəl/
  • General-American: /ˈtwɑdəl/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ædəl
  • CMU ARPABET: T W AA1 D AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Empty or silly idle talk or writing; nonsense, rubbish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • You're talking a load of twaddle. Get your facts straight, man!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blather, blathering, chatter, chinwag, chit-chat, claver, clepe, gabble, hot air, mardle, natter, palaver, prate, prattle, scuttlebutt, small talk, tattle, twaddle, waffle, yackety-yak, yap, yatter

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One who twaddles; a twaddler.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To talk or write nonsense; to prattle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

pretentious or silly talk or writing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: baloney, boloney, bilgewater, bosh, drool, humbug, taradiddle, tarradiddle, tommyrot, tosh

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nonsense, bunk, nonsensicality, meaninglessness, hokum

6

verb

Meaning 6

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, clack, maunder, prattle, 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

Variant of Tweedle.

An alteration of twattle (1556), of unknown origin.

Across languages

Translations

68 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: gop — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Azerbaijani: osturaq — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Bulgarian: празни приказки (prazni prikazki) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Catalan: xerrameca — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Catalan: vèrbola — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 胡言乱语 (hú yán luàn yǔ) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 胡说八道 (húshuōbādào) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 信口开河 (xìnkǒukāihé) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Danish: vrøvl — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Danish: vås — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Dutch: onzin — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Finnish: höpinä — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Finnish: höpötys — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • French: fadaise — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • French: sornette — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: Gequassel — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: Quatsch — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: Gewäsch — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: Geschwätz — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: dummes Geschwätz — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: dummes Zeug — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • German: Geschwurbel — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Haitian Creole: sornèt — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Haitian Creole: istwa san sans — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Indonesian: ocehan — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Norwegian: pjatt — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Norwegian: tomprat — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Norwegian: tullprat — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Norwegian: løst prat — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: paplanina — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: gadanina — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: dyrdymały — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: bzdurzenie — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: brednie — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: ględy — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: farmazony — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: bajdy — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Polish: ambaje — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Portuguese: palração — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Russian: трындёж (tryndjóž) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Russian: болтовня (boltovnja) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Spanish: chorrada — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: trams — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: svammel — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: dravel — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: snack — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: pladder — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Swedish: babbel — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Turkish: zırva — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Ukrainian: нісенітниця (nisenitnycja) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Ukrainian: пустослів'я (pustoslivʺja) — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Volapük: lupükot — Empty or silly idle talk or writing
  • Azerbaijani: gopa basmaq — To talk or write nonsense
  • Azerbaijani: goplamaq — To talk or write nonsense
  • Azerbaijani: küləkləmək — To talk or write nonsense
  • Azerbaijani: osturağa basmaq — To talk or write nonsense
  • Czech: žvanit — To talk or write nonsense
  • Czech: kecat — To talk or write nonsense
  • Danish: vrøvle — To talk or write nonsense
  • Danish: våse — To talk or write nonsense
  • Finnish: höpöttää — To talk or write nonsense
  • Polish: paplać — To talk or write nonsense
  • Polish: gadać — To talk or write nonsense
  • Portuguese: palrar — To talk or write nonsense
  • Russian: трындеть (tryndetʹ) — To talk or write nonsense
  • Swedish: svamla — To talk or write nonsense
  • Swedish: pladdra — To talk or write nonsense
  • Swedish: babbla — To talk or write nonsense