1
as in gobbledegook
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions
the reporter listened to the senator's double-talk for about 30 seconds, and then repeated the question
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in nonsense
unintelligible or meaningless talk
the man on the sidewalk rattled off some double-talk, shoved the petition in my face, and before I realized it, I had added my signature to the list
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of double-talk
Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.
—
Barak Ravid, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Pat Paulsen, a master of dry wit, delivered droll, double-talk editorials on social issues before mounting a presidential campaign in 1968 with the Straight Talkin’ American Government (STAG) Party.
—Fred A. Bernstein, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
What new form of narrative, what gory amalgam of truth and spectacle, what double-talking rough beast approaches?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2023
If his pre-prison projects were almost entirely freestyled, these songs are more tightly written, honoring the fallen, indicting the double-talk of the industry, powered by the energy of a bowstring being pulled back for a half-decade.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2023
Barak Ravid, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Pat Paulsen, a master of dry wit, delivered droll, double-talk editorials on social issues before mounting a presidential campaign in 1968 with the Straight Talkin’ American Government (STAG) Party.
—Fred A. Bernstein, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
What new form of narrative, what gory amalgam of truth and spectacle, what double-talking rough beast approaches?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2023
If his pre-prison projects were almost entirely freestyled, these songs are more tightly written, honoring the fallen, indicting the double-talk of the industry, powered by the energy of a bowstring being pulled back for a half-decade.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for double-talk
Noun
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This smacks of fake tough guy nonsense.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
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And then a lot of nonsense, which comes with the script.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Between February and May, when Dudek’s tenure ended, his erratic rhetoric and decisions routinely made front-page news.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
8 Sep. 2025
-
By moving from rhetoric to large-scale military action, Maduro is signaling that Venezuela will fight drug trafficking on its own terms while resisting Washington's narrative of Caracas as a narco-state.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Bob Kring DeBary Congressional bill is full of greed The Great Big Beautiful Bill reads like 950 pages of of gobbledygook distilled into four words: Greedy, stingy, mean and short-sighted.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 July 2025
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The six-episode limited series feels like a long movie broken into arbitrary episodes, its ending is mired by digital gobbledygook, and Marvel still doesn’t know how magic makes sense in a universe ruled by advanced technology and literal gods.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
Trump prattles on about the economy while the actors freeze behind him in their ancient Galilee garb.—
Rosa Escandon,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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She was getting winded on our walk, and her prattle was broken up by heavy breaths.—
Joshua Cohen,
The New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
My last thought, here, beware of the endless gibberish about the hazards of rotations.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
24 Aug. 2025
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Her toddler, who was almost two, leaned over the railing and called out to the agents in baby gibberish, but the agents did not acknowledge her.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Two types of story dominated the chatter in the newsroom this week.—
Leonie Kidd,
CNBC,
7 Sep. 2025
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Read the Room While everyone’s all for friendly chatter before the game or between plays, once the ball’s in the air, many folks will want to focus all attention on what’s happening on screen.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
No rigamarole or bureaucracy to navigate.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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The bust was followed by months of prolonged legal rigmarole.—
John Semley,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And given that these are not professional actors, or even (in most cases) people who aspire to be, LaBeouf’s words to them, full of deadly serious jabber about empathy and ego, are pumped up with an intensity that feels overdone and inappropriate.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
19 May 2025
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Worse, such jabber crowds out essential coverage of genuine threats to democracy and the visions of the two parties.—
Jennifer Rubin,
Washington Post,
16 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Double-talk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/double-talk. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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