prate

Noun · Verb

Open English WordNet

Noun (1)

  1. idle or foolish and irrelevant talkSynonyms: prattleidle talkbletherchin musicType of yak, yack

Verb (1)prated, prating

  1. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantlySynonyms: chatterpifflepalavertittle-tattletwaddleclackmaunderprattleblabgibbertattleblabbergabbleMore general talk, speakMore specific babble, blather
Word of the day · Nov 9About this word
inexorableadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Prate intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Prated; present participle & verbal noun Prating.]

Origin: 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.— William Shakespeare
And make a fool presume to prate of love.— John Dryden

Prate transitive verb

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 !— John Dryden

Prate noun

Origin: Akin to LG. & D. praat, Sw. prat.

Talk to little purpose; trifling talk; unmeaning loquacity.

Sick of tops, and poetry, and prate.— Alexander Pope

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Advertisement