Babel

[bab-uh l; Russian bah-byil]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Babel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

I·saak Em·ma·nu·i·lo·vich

[ahy-zuh k; Russian ee-sahk yi-muh-noo-yee-luh-vyich] /ˈaɪ zək; Russian iˈsɑk yɪ mə nuˈyi lə vyɪtʃ/, 1894–1941, Russian author.

Babel

[bey-buhl, bab-uhl]

noun

an ancient city in the land of Shinar in which the building of a tower (Tower of Babel) intended to reach heaven was begun and the confusion of the language of the people took place. Gen. 11:4–9.

(usually lowercase) a confused mixture of sounds or voices.

(usually lowercase) a scene of noise and confusion.

Origin of Babel

From the Hebrew word Bābhel Babylon

Related formsBa·bel·ic

[bey-bel-ik, ba-] /beɪˈbɛl ɪk, bæ-/, adjective

Synonyms for Babel

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Babel ON THESAURUS.COM

3. tumult, turmoil, uproar, bedlam, clamor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for babel

turmoil, din, discord, tumult, bedlam, clang, hubbub, hullabaloo, pandemonium, racket, tower, jargon

Examples from the Web for babel

Contemporary Examples of babel

Gowan, Donald E. From Eden to Babel: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 1-11.
The Backstory of ‘Noah’ Is Full of Giants, Horny Angels, and a Grieving God
Tim Townsend
March 28, 2014
Mumford Sons taking 'a considerable amount of time off' after 'Babel' tour.
Emmy Awards Score Ratings High, Jon Hamm May Undergo Surgery
Culture Team
September 23, 2013
We watch Babel beaten, just before his death, in “Lubyanka Prison, Moscow, 1940.”
Intriguing, Humorous, Even Poetic: Peter Orner’s New Story Collection
Joseph Peschel
August 13, 2013
Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, The Burning Plain) employs a nonlinear style.
Benjamin Percy: How I Write
Noah Charney
June 5, 2013
But I recall nothing in Possession, Angels & Insects, Babel Tower, or her other books that seems to presage this one.
Must Reads: Wild Abandon, Ramona Ausubel, A.S. Byatt
Nicholas Mancusi, Jennifer Miller, Allen Barra
March 6, 2012

Historical Examples of babel

This stone was thrown at the sainted Stephen, and the other two are from the Tower of Babel.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Between its Babel towers narrow Nassau Street was like a canyon.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
"By Babel streams I have sat and wept" almost ever since I wrote you last.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Marcia entered her mother's sitting-room in the midst of what seemed a babel of voices.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
It could scarcely be heard above the Babel of tongues which was sounding.
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill

British Dictionary definitions for babel

Babel

noun

Old Testament

Also called: Tower of Babela tower presumptuously intended to reach from earth to heaven, the building of which was frustrated when Jehovah confused the language of the builders (Genesis 11:1–9)
the city, probably Babylon, in which this tower was supposedly built

(often not capital)

a confusion of noises or voices
a scene of noise and confusion

Word Origin for Babel

from Hebrew Bābhél, from Akkadian Bāb-ilu, literally: gate of God

Babel

noun

Issak Emmanuilovich (iˈsak imənuˈiləvitʃ) 1894–1941, Russian short-story writer, whose works include Stories from Odessa (1924) and Red Cavalry (1926)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for babel

Babel

capital of Babylon, late 14c., from Hebrew Babhel (Gen. xi), from Akkadian bab-ilu "Gate of God" (from bab "gate" + ilu "god"). The name is a translation of Sumerian Ka-dingir. Meaning "confused medley of sounds" (1520s) is from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.