Meanings
blather1
present singular third person blathers · participle present blathering · participle past blathered · past blathered · alternative blether
- derogatoryintransitiveTo talk rapidly without making much sense.
“There you go blatherin’,” said Brindle, intending a mild rebuke.
1866, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Felix Holt, the Radical […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 2492 more examples
It was at the unveiling of Sir John Gray's statue. Edmund Dwyer Gray was speaking, blathering away, and here was this old fellow, crabbed-looking old chap, looking at him from under his bushy eyebrows.
1905 (date written), James Joyce, “Grace”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC, page 210On and on he blathered, taking refuge in the one thing he felt lent him superiority: words.
2001, Richard Flanagan, “The Pot-Bellied Seahorse”, in Gould’s Book of Fish, New York, N.Y.: Grove Atlantic, published 2014, section 5 - derogatorytransitiveTo say (something foolish or nonsensical); to say (something) in a foolish or overly verbose way.
[…] the church attitude has never been that a teacher should be allowed to blather anything that comes into his head without any accountability at all.
1974, Robert M[aynard] Pirsig, chapter 18, in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow & Company, →ISBN, part 3, page 2141 more example
Then, just before the wedding, the old man feels he’s honor bound to tell his future son-in-law the secret of his past; so the damned idiot blathers the whole story of his killing the man and breaking jail!
1929, Eugene O’Neill, Dynamo, New York, N.Y.: Liveright, act I, scene i, page 31
alternative blether
- derogatoryuncountableFoolish or nonsensical talk.
Will you cease your blather of mutiny and treason and courts-martial?
1922, Rafael Sabatini, chapter 23, in Captain Blood, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 2652 more examples
That is the worst of being in an Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;
1897, G. A. Henty, chapter 1, in With Moore at Corunna, New York: Scribner, page 16With years of proofreading under my belt, I knew exactly the blather and bluster favoured by professional politicians.
1995, Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, part 5, page 280Synonyms: blither, babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blathering
blather2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounFoolish or nonsensical talk.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Norseblaðra“to speak inarticulately, talk nonsense”
- Middle Englishbletheren
- Englishblather
From Middle English bletheren, bloderen, from Old Norse blaðra (“to speak inarticulately, talk nonsense”). Cognate with Scots blether, bladder, bledder (“to blather”), dialectal German bladdern (“to talk nonsense, blather”), Norwegian bladra (“to babble, speak imperfectly”), Icelandic blaðra (“to twaddle”).
More words from Middle English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بَقَّ, لَغْو
- بَقَّ (baqqa)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- لَغْو (laḡw)foolish or nonsensical talk
Bulgarian плямпам, говоря празни приказки
- плямпам (pljampam)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- говоря празни приказки (govorja prazni prikazki)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- плямпане (pljampane)foolish or nonsensical talk
- дърдорене (dărdorene)foolish or nonsensical talk
Czech pindat, žvanit
- pindatto talk rapidly without making much sense
- žvanitto talk rapidly without making much sense
- mlítto talk rapidly without making much sense
- tlachatto talk rapidly without making much sense
- tlachyfoolish or nonsensical talk
- žvástyfoolish or nonsensical talk
Danish skvadre, jappe
- skvadreto talk rapidly without making much sense
- jappeto talk rapidly without making much sense
- pludreto talk rapidly without making much sense
Esperanto babilaĉi, babilaĉo
- babilaĉito talk rapidly without making much sense
- babilaĉofoolish or nonsensical talk
- vortlaksofoolish or nonsensical talk
Finnish lörpötellä, pälpättää
- lörpötelläto talk rapidly without making much sense
- pälpättääto talk rapidly without making much sense
- pölistäto talk rapidly without making much sense
- kaakattaato talk rapidly without making much sense
French déblatérer, dégoiser
- déblatérerto talk rapidly without making much sense
- dégoiserto talk rapidly without making much sense
German quasseln, quatschen
- quasselnto talk rapidly without making much sense
- quatschento talk rapidly without making much sense
- sabbelnto talk rapidly without making much sense
- Gequatschefoolish or nonsensical talk
- Gequasselfoolish or nonsensical talk
- Gelaberefoolish or nonsensical talk
- Labereifoolish or nonsensical talk
Irish bí ag glaigearacht
- bí ag glaigearachtto talk rapidly without making much sense
Italian blaterare, sproloquiare
- blaterareto talk rapidly without making much sense
- sproloquiareto talk rapidly without making much sense
- straparlareto talk rapidly without making much sense
Māori kunanu
- kunanuto talk rapidly without making much sense
Polish bajtlować, zbajtlować
- bajtlowaćto talk rapidly without making much sense
- zbajtlowaćto talk rapidly without making much sense
- bredzeniefoolish or nonsensical talk
Portuguese tagarelar
- tagarelarto talk rapidly without making much sense
Romanian bodogăni
- bodogănito talk rapidly without making much sense
Russian тарато́рить, треща́ть
- тарато́рить (taratóritʹ)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- треща́ть (treščátʹ)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- трепа́ться (trepátʹsja)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- балаболить (balabolitʹ)to talk rapidly without making much sense
Scottish Gaelic bleadraig
- bleadraigto talk rapidly without making much sense
Spanish despotricar
- despotricarto talk rapidly without making much sense
Swedish pladdra
- pladdrato talk rapidly without making much sense
Tamil உளறு, பேத்து
- உளறு (uḷaṟu)to talk rapidly without making much sense
- பேத்து (pēttu)to talk rapidly without making much sense
Turkish çene çalmak, gevezelik etmek
- çene çalmakto talk rapidly without making much sense
- gevezelik etmekto talk rapidly without making much sense
- saçmalamakto talk rapidly without making much sense
- zevzeklik etmekto talk rapidly without making much sense
Ukrainian базі́кання, балакани́на
- базі́кання (bazíkannja)foolish or nonsensical talk
- балакани́на (balakanýna)foolish or nonsensical talk
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with blather
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
blather. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blather
“blather.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blather. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blather,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blather.
Source: blather on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.