garble
1gar·ble
verb \ˈgär-bəl\gar·bledgar·bling\-b(ə-)liŋ\
Definition of GARBLE
transitive verb
1
archaic : cull 1
2
: to sift impurities from
3
a : to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning <garble a story> b : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment
— gar·bler \-b(ə-)lər\ noun
Examples of GARBLE
- <the candidate complained that his views had been deliberately garbled by his opponent>
- <garbled spices are less likely to contaminate a recipe>
Origin of GARBLE
Middle English garbelen, from Old Italian garbellare to sift, from Arabic gharbala, from Late Latin cribellare, from cribellum sieve; akin to Latin cernere to sift — more at certain
First Known Use: 15th century
Related to GARBLE
Related Words: misdescribe, misspeak, mistranslate; belie, camouflage, disguise, dissemble, gloss (over), mask, veil, whitewash; bowdlerize, censor; complicate, confound, confuse, mistake, mix (up); mystify, obscure; equivocate, fib, lie, palter, prevaricate
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