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Technobabble was formed by combining techno- (meaning "technical or technological") with babble ("continuous meaningless vocal sounds"), and unsurprisingly suggests language which sounds highly technical and is incomprehensible to the listener. Techno- as a combining form has given English speakers a number of interesting words, including but not limited to technocrat, technophile and technophobia, techno-thriller, technopreneur, and even technostructure ("the network of professionally skilled scientists, engineers, and administrators that tends to control the economy"). Techno- itself traces back to the same root word that gave us technology, namely the Greek word technē, meaning "art, craft, or practical skill."
Examples of technobabble in a Sentence
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
Tom’s latest vehicle for death-defying stunts and — at this point — incoherent technobabble pits him against the AI from Dead Reckoning again.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 23 May 2025
Sure, the ending is solved by a convenient bit of technobabble, but even that could be seen as spoofing Trek.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Simplification is about presenting information in a manner that best resonates with an audience and putting aside technobabble that may be confusing.
—Steve Durbin, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
That’s because the plot is a lumpy stew of familiar elements, given minimal narrative clarity despite the reams of expository technobabble spouted by Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Paradox.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024
Twister built a template that its sequel largely follows: loud and fast-paced but anchored by a reliable ensemble spouting meteorological technobabble amid the chaos.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 July 2024
But Hubbard’s own writings are chock-full of technobabble, intermingling actual technical terms with statements that are demonstrably false.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Technobabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technobabble. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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