blather
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
-
blathers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blathered,
past participle, past
-
blathering
present participle
verb
noun
-
foolish talk; nonsense
-
a person who blathers
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blathersimple
-
blatherssimple
-
have blatheredperfect
-
has blatheredperfect
-
am blatheringprogressive
-
are blatheringprogressive
-
is blatheringprogressive
-
have been blatheringperfect progressive
-
has been blatheringperfect progressive
Past
-
blatheredsimple
-
had blatheredperfect
-
was blatheringprogressive
-
were blatheringprogressive
-
had been blatheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blather
From Middle English; Old Norse blathra “to chatter, blabber”
Explanation
To blather is to talk on and on without saying anything very important or wise. If you blather all afternoon, it might be a welcome distraction to your friend who's grieving the death of her cat. You can use the word blather as a noun too: you might hate riding the bus home from school because of all the silly blather around you. At a job, it might be acceptable to blather during your lunch break, but not once you get back to work. The verb came first, and it was originally Scottish, probably from the Old Norse word blaðra, "mutter or wag the tongue."
Vocabulary lists containing blather
The Hunger Games
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Speak
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Ghost
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In fact, I expected the outcome since about day seven, including China’s role in bringing about a settlement, though minus any blather on my part about a victory for the mullahs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
All of this speaks well of Betts’ intuition and intelligence, but the postseason is not the time for “trust the process” blather.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
"All this blather about Mr Adams being a member of the army council is not something you have to decide," he told the jury.
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
Since joining Cameo, he’s jacked up his rates from $75 a video to $500 for a few seconds of custom-ordered blather.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2023
Nobody asked you to talk, said Philomena.You done enough damage with your blather, so shut your yap.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
If she wants to call witnesses to rebut specific lies he blathers, she can.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2021
“One of the things that almost every longtime survivor I know has commented on is how eerie it is to see them up there smiling and nodding while this fool blathers on,” he says.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2020
He blathers on about Picasso as a rogue sociopath, a narcissist out to make someone suffer, maybe his mom or his dad or himself or the whole world.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2012
He mutes his speakerphone and cracks wise as a colleague blathers on.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2011
Heather paints her nails on her desk blotter and blathers.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
He blathered incoherently about the New York Times' award-winning 1619 Project, which explores the origins of American democracy and its irrevocable connections to white-on-Black chattel slavery.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2020
Pressed on the Charlotte Edwardes claims, Matt Hancock blathered that he did have red lines that would force his cabinet resignation, but he wasn’t going to say them out loud.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 2, 2019
For now, though, Koepka is ascendant, and for all the reasons I've blathered on about for the last four hours, what he's accomplished in the past two years is more than just remarkable—it's singular.
From Golf Digest ● May 19, 2019
Pundits blathered above a ticker of the latest headlines.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2015
The lieu-tenant blathered on about major versus minor offenses, the need to make judgments, and so on, apparently expecting me to say, “Oh, I get it!” and withdraw from his office.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
And don’t be surprised if I think you’re a blathering chucklehead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2025
I thought of how Sam Donaldson or, God forbid, Helen Thomas, would have reacted to such blathering and I knew once again that the other problem in Washington is us — the press.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2022
“I was letting off steam and it was more online blathering than anything,” he said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
This was just blathering with no particular expectation of a response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2020
Liz declared herself my “public relations” manager for my chicken coops, and then started blathering on about the “urban chicken market” and the need for the coops to have a cool paint job.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
