prattle 1 of 2

noun

Definition of prattlenext
as in babble
unintelligible or meaningless talk parents often claim to understand the prattle of their infant offspring

Synonyms & Similar Words

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prattle

2 of 2

verb

ˈpra-tᵊl How to pronounce prattle (audio)
1
as in to chat
to engage in casual or rambling conversation spent an hour on the phone prattling on about nothing in particular

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to chatter
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly stop prattling and calmly tell us the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prattle
Noun
The Korean Football Association was furious, responding to this juvenile, but ultimately harmless, prattle by boycotting the Korean press. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 24 June 2026 Some of the prattle can feel like treading water, a delaying tactic until the inevitable confrontation scene. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
The father, Man, prattles on about mowing the lawn, painting the fence, and managing their orchard’s irrigation, while the son periodically falls off his chair from boredom. — Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025 One half of a pair of young twins prattles on incessantly about some sci-fi arcana while the boy’s bored-looking mother and his quieter brother tune him out. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for prattle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prattle
  1. babble
  2. chat
  3. chatter
  4. nonsense
  5. talk
  6. gabble
  7. jabber
  8. converse
Noun
  • And three, sometimes four, of those many waking hours are spent in the car — bouncing from home to school to her second or third job and home again — with music at full blast to drown out the babble of anxiety, most of it financial.
    — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Companies modelled after Mary Kay that have reprised empowerment babble for their founders’ gain are mentioned but receive scarce judgment.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 15 July 2026
Definition of babble
Verb
  • Times columnists Gustavo Arellano, Steve Lopez and Lorraine Ali are chatting about Tuesday night’s Los Angeles mayoral debate between Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The details of the allegations, which disclosed how fraternity members used a Snapchat group chat to discuss the woman and events at the party with openly crude language, sparked fury across the nation.
    — Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of chat
Verb
  • Some raved about the experience to those in line while others chattered among themselves about their thoughts.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • As the courtroom cleared, a jumble of spectators and journalists chattered about the whiplash.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of chatter
Noun
  • In the eyes of the conferences, and CFP committee, the allure of a postseason bid is the carrot that would dangle in front of them so that fans would look the other way at the nonsense this creates for the football played in September or October.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • My fellow relishers of Trowbridge nonsense, today is our day of jubilee.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of nonsense
Verb
  • Conservatives have talked for years about the need to downsize the federal leviathan.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Kevin Warsh wants the Fed to talk less and to force investors to look at the numbers and make their own decisions.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of talk
Verb
  • Perennially delighted and deeply uncool, Tascioni gabbles about the wonders of the city while her interlocutors roll their eyes at her lack of sophistication and taste.
    — Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024
Definition of gabble
Noun
  • Some children clustered there to jabber and run madly about, while others just wanted attention and knew how to get it.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
  • 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
Definition of jabber
Verb
  • Mexican security forces, both military and police, were also observed conversing with Border Patrol agents over the international boundary.
    — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026
  • This was already noticed long before the emergence of AI chatbots with the power to converse.
    — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of converse

Browse Nearby Words

prats
prattle
prattled
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Cite this Entry

“Prattle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prattle. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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