garble

1 of 2

verb

gar·​ble ˈgär-bəl 

garbled; garbling ˈgär-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

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

2

: to sift impurities from

3

archaic : cull sense 1

garbler

ˈgär-b(ə-)lər 

noun

garble

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act or an instance of garbling

2

: the impurities removed from spices in sifting

Did you know?

Garble is a word with a spicy history, and we're not just saying that to curry favor with gastronomes. It is presumed that this word was passed from Arabic to Mediterranean Europe through trade in Eastern spices, and was first introduced into English from the Anglo-French verb garbeler, used for the action of sifting out impurities—such as dust, dirt, husks, etc.—from spices. In the 15th century, the English garble carried this same meaning as well as "to cull," i.e., to sort or pick out the best parts of something. If these origins seem curious given garble’s now more common meanings of "to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression" and "to cause to be unclear or confusing; to introduce error into," consider that one way of garbling someone’s story is to take bits and pieces out of context.

Synonyms

Verb

• distort
• misrepresent

Examples of garble in a Sentence

Verb

the candidate complained that his views had been deliberately garbled by his opponent

garbled spices are less likely to contaminate a recipe

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Limits of Expansion Since mathematicians began studying expander graphs in the 1960s, they’ve been used to model the brain (opens a new tab), perform statistical analyses, and build error-correcting codes — encrypted messages that can be read even if they get garbled in transmission. —Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025

Data-poisoning tools like Nightshade, which can garble some AI outputs, may be a more effective solution for concerned artists. —Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 8 Oct. 2024

Noun

Voters can expect to hear a lot from Republicans about her many early gaffes and garble. —Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2024

This is cumbersome, which is why some Web3 companies have carved out a small but profitable niche to allow users to translate their wallet address from alphanumeric garble to a username, or from 0xAA2B52A6DF7DBFD07640BDA2B373D37BACD81DF5 to simple.nft. —Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 17 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English garbelen "to remove impurites or refuse from (spices)," borrowed from Anglo-French garbeler, probably borrowed—directly or from Italian *garbellare (attested in Medieval Latin of Verona as garbellāre in 1319)—from Arabic gharbala "to sift, screen," derivative of ghirbāl "sieve," borrowed from Late Latin crībellum, diminutive of Latin crībrum "sieve" — more at riddle entry 3

Note: Presumably a word passed from Arabic to Mediterranean Europe through trade in Eastern spices. The earliest evidence of the Romance/Latin etymon is in a statute of the city of Marseille (recording both garbellare and garbellum "sieve, riddle") from 1269 (though there is apparently no corresponding word in Old Occitan). The French form garbalé (past participle of the verb) is attested in a document from Bruges in Flanders dated to 1304. Joan Coromines (Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico) believes the word was first adopted from Arabic in Catalonia, partly on the basis of the half-Catalan phrase grana assaonada "ripened grains [?]" used in the above-mentioned Marseille statute.

Noun

derivative of garble entry 1; in sense 2 perhaps in part borrowed from Italian garbello, noun derivative of garbellare

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun

1503, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for garble

• barbel
• marble

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Kids Definition

garble

verb

gar·​ble

ˈgär-bəl

garbled; garbling

-b(ə-)liŋ

: to change or twist the meaning or sound of

garbler

-b(ə-)lər

noun