Adjacent Words

Tattle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TAT'TLE, v.i.
1. To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning.
Excuse it by the tattling quality of age, which is always narrative.
2. To tell tales; to communicate secrets; as a tattling girl.
TAT'TLE, n. Prate, idle talk or chat; trifling talk.
They told the tattle of the day.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: disclosing information or giving evidence about another [syn: tattle, singing, telling] 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]
2: divulge confidential information or secrets; "Be careful--his secretary talks" [syn: spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, talk, tattle, blab, peach, babble, sing, babble out, blab out] [ant: keep one's mouth shut, keep quiet, shut one's mouth]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: circa 1529 1. idle talk ; chatter 2. gossip II. verb (tattled; tattling) Etymology: Middle Dutch tatelen; akin to Middle English tateren to tattle Date: 1547 intransitive verb 1. chatter, prate 2. to tell secrets ; blab transitive verb to utter or disclose in gossip or chatter

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. prattle, chatter; gossip idly. 2 tr. utter (words) idly. --n. gossip; idle or trivial talk. Phrases and idioms: tattle-tale US a tell-tale, esp. a child. Etymology: ME f. MFlem. tatelen, tateren (imit.)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tattle Tat"tle, n. Idle talk or chat; trifling talk; prate. [They] told the tattle of the day. --Swift.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tattle Tat"tle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tattled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tattling.] [Akin to OE. tateren, LG. tateln, D. tateren to stammer, and perhaps to E. titter.] 1. To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning; to chat. The tattling quality of age, which is always narrative. --Dryden. 2. To tell tales; to communicate secrets; to be a talebearer; as, a tattling girl.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see tittle-tattle

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Prate, prattle, chatter, chat, jabber, babble, talk idly or thoughtlessly, talk at random, spin a long yarn. 2. (Colloq.) Blab, gossip, tell tales, tell secrets. II. n. Prate, prattle, gossip, twaddle, twattle, gabble, idle talk.

Moby Thesaurus

babble, back-fence gossip, be indiscreet, be unguarded, bear witness against, betray, betray a confidence, blab, blabber, blather, blether, blow the whistle, blurt, blurt out, buzz, chatter, chitchat, clatter, cry, divulge, fink, give away, gossip, gossiping, gossipmongering, gossipry, grapevine, groundless rumor, hearsay, idle talk, inform, inform against, inform on, jabber, leak, let drop, let fall, let slip, narc, natter, newsmongering, peach, piece of gossip, prate, prattle, rat, retail gossip, reveal, reveal a secret, rumble, rumor, scuttlebutt, sell out, sing, snitch, snitch on, spill, spill the beans, squeal, stool, story, tale, talebearing, taletelling, talk, tattle on, tell, tell idle tales, tell on, tell secrets, tell tales, testify against, tittle-tattle, turn informer