Meanings
- uncountablefictionTechnical or scientific language used to convey a false impression of meaningful technical or scientific content.
'Dimensional incursion? What kind of ludicrous technobabble is that supposed to—' ¶ Unexpectedly, he fell silent.
1997, Lawrence Miles, chapter 4, in Alien Bodies, page 843 more examples
'We are self-sufficient...We don't rely on clear skies and satellite access and not being deep underground, because of your wonderful technobabble devices.'
1998, Peter Anghelides, chapter 1, in Kursaal, page 6"And despite all the weird events the dialogue is naturalistic and light on technobabble", says Peter. "Such a relief after recent stories."
2006 November, Michael Pritchard, Doctor Who Magazine, number 376, page 45Destroying the sphere doesn’t work, so the Discovery crew hatches a plan, with some incoherent technobabble: They’re going to launch the time traveling suit and the sphere so far into the future that, somehow, this will save sentient life in the universe.
2019 March 29, Sopan Deb, “‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2, Episode 11: Struggle Is Pointless”, in The New York Times, →ISSN - uncountableFrom the point of view of the layperson, technical and scientific literature not understood.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*teḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*tetḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*téḱ-sneh₂
- Ancient Greekτέχνη (tékhnē)
- Ancient Greekτεχνο- (tekhno-)
- Englishtechno-
- Englishbabble
- Englishtechnobabble
Translations
Czech technoblábol
- technoblábolfake technical language used in fiction
French technobabillage
- technobabillagefake technical language used in fiction
German Technobabbel, Technobrabbel
- Technobabbelfake technical language used in fiction
- Technobrabbelfake technical language used in fiction
Icelandic tæknibull
- tæknibullfake technical language used in fiction
Italian tecno bla-bla
- tecno bla-blafake technical language used in fiction
Norwegian teknobabbel
- teknobabbelfake technical language used in fiction
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with technobabble
All rhymes →Cite this entry
technobabble. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/technobabble
“technobabble.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/technobabble. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “technobabble,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/technobabble.
Source: technobabble on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.