gibberish

noun

gib·​ber·​ish ˈji-brish  ˈji-bə-rish 

ˈgi-

: unintelligible or meaningless language:

a

: a technical or esoteric (see esoteric sense 1) language

The doctors spoke to one another in their medical gibberish that I was unable to follow.

b

: pretentious or needlessly obscure language

The substance of the philosopher's work is buried in polysyllabic gibberish.

Synonyms

• abracadabra
• babble
• blabber
• burble
• double Dutch
• double-talk
• drivel
• gabble
• gibber
• jabber
• jabberwocky
• mumbo jumbo
• nonsense
• prattle
• slobber

Examples of gibberish in a Sentence

She was talking gibberish in her sleep.

was so excited he could only talk gibberish

Recent Examples on the Web

But what commentators and viewers have missed is the tiny nugget of actual fact nestled within Trump’s 374 words of absolute gibberish. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024

Sometimes, this leads to AI hallucinations that make the responses kind of gibberish. —Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 16 Aug. 2024

The end result in the final generation was nonessential surrealist-sounding gibberish that had essentially nothing to do with the original text. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 25 July 2024

All of which, to me as an American, read as gibberish. —Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 2 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from gibber

First Known Use

circa 1554, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gibberish

noun

gib·​ber·​ish ˈjib-(ə-)rish  ˈgib- 

: confused meaningless talk