Adjacent Words

Prate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRATE, v.i. To talk much and without weight, or to little purpose; to be loquacious; as the vulgar express it, to run on.
To prate and talk for life and honor,
And make a fool presume to prate of love.
PRATE, v.t. To utter foolishly.
What nonsense would the fool, thy master, prate,
When thou, his knave, canst talk at such a rate?
PRATE, n. Continued talk to little purpose; trifling talk; unmeaning loquacity.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: idle or foolish and irrelevant talk [syn: prate, prattle, idle talk, blether, chin music] v
1: speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly [syn: chatter, piffle, palaver, prate, tittle- tattle, twaddle, clack, maunder, prattle, blab, gibber, tattle, blabber, gabble]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb (prated; prating) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle Dutch; akin to Middle Low German pratten to pout Date: 15th century to talk long and idly ; chatter • prate noun • prater noun • pratingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. chatter; talk too much. 2 intr. talk foolishly or irrelevantly. 3 tr. tell or say in a prating manner. --n. prating; idle talk. Derivatives: prater n. prating adj. Etymology: ME f. MDu., MLG praten, prob. imit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prate Prate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prated; p. pr. & vb. n. Prating.] [Akin to LG. & D. praten, Dan. prate, Sw. & Icel. prata.] To talk much and to little purpose; to be loquacious; to speak foolishly; to babble. To prate and talk for life and honor. --Shak. And make a fool presume to prate of love. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prate Prate, v. t. To utter foolishly; to speak without reason or purpose; to chatter, or babble. What nonsense would the fool, thy master, prate, When thou, his knave, canst talk at such a rate ! --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prate Prate, n. [Akin to LG. & D. praat, Sw. prat.] Talk to little purpose; trifling talk; unmeaning loquacity. Sick of tops, and poetry, and prate. --Pope.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Prattle, chatter, tattle, babble, gabble, palaver, jabber, be loquacious, be garrulous. II. v. a. Tell (foolishly), babble, utter, prate about. III. n. Prattle, gabble, chatter, twaddle, palaver, idle talk, childish talk, twattle, non-sense.

Moby Thesaurus

absurdity, amphigory, babble, babblement, balderdash, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blah-blah, blather, blether, blethers, blow, bombast, brag, bull, bullshit, cackle, caquet, caqueterie, chat, chatter, chitter-chatter, clack, claptrap, clatter, cock-a-doodle-doo, crow, dither, double-talk, drivel, drool, fiddle-faddle, fiddledeedee, flummery, folderol, fudge, fustian, gab, gabble, galimatias, gammon, gas, gasconade, gibber, gibberish, gibble-gabble, go on, gobbledygook, gossip, guff, gush, haver, hocus-pocus, hot air, humbug, idle talk, jabber, jargon, jaw, mere talk, mouth, mumbo jumbo, narrishkeit, natter, niaiserie, nonsense, nonsense talk, pack of nonsense, palaver, patter, piffle, pour forth, prating, prattle, prittle-prattle, puff, ramble on, rant, rattle, rattle on, reel off, rigamarole, rigmarole, rodomontade, rubbish, run on, skimble-skamble, spout, spout off, stuff and nonsense, stultiloquence, talk away, talk nonsense, talk on, talkee-talkee, tittle-tattle, trash, trumpery, twaddle, twattle, twiddle-twaddle, vapor, vaporing, vaunt, waffle, waffling, yak, yakkety-yak