Dictionary.com
definitions

blither

[blith -er]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR blither ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to talk foolishly; blather: He's blithering about some problem of his.

RELATED WORDS

blathering, chitchatting, gibbering, blabbering, jabbering

Origin of blither

First recorded in 1865–70; variant of blather
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for blithering

Historical Examples of blithering

  • Thomas Mugridge was beside himself, a blithering imbecile, so pleased was he at chumming thus with the captain.

    The Sea-Wolf

    Jack London

  • Look here, Jack, has everybody on the blithering police force gone crazy about pajamas?

    The Haunted Pajamas

    Francis Perry Elliott

  • You've got a good enough memory not to have forgotten that you made a blithering fool of me once.

  • Why in God's name could he think clearly and yet only talk like a blithering fool?

    Erik Dorn

    Ben Hecht

  • Her husband comes in: a robust, thicknecked, well groomed city man, with a strong chin but a blithering eye and credulous mouth.

    How He Lied to Her Husband

    George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for blithering

blithering

adjective

talking foolishly; jabbering
informal stupid; foolishyou blithering idiot

Word Origin for blithering

C19: variant of blather + -ing ²
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 blithering
adj.

1880, present participle adjective (from the first typically with idiot) from blither (v.) "to talk nonsense." From 1872 as a verbal noun.

blither

v.

1868, variant of blether "talk nonsense," 1520s, a northern British and Scottish word, from Middle English blather (see blather (v.)). Related: Blithered; blithering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper