drivel

[ driv-uh l ]

/ ˈdrɪv əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR drivel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

saliva flowing from the mouth, or mucus from the nose; slaver.

childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle.

verb (used without object), driv·eled, driv·el·ing or (especially British) driv·elled, driv·el·ling.

to let saliva flow from the mouth or mucus from the nose; slaver.

to talk childishly or idiotically.

Archaic. to issue like spittle.

verb (used with object), driv·eled, driv·el·ing or (especially British) driv·elled, driv·el·ling.

to utter childishly or idiotically.

to waste foolishly.

Nearby words

drive-through delivery, drive-thru, drive-time, drive-up, driveaway, drivel, driveline, driven, driver, driver ant, driver ed

Origin of drivel

before 1000; Middle English dryvelen, variant of drevelen, Old English dreflian; akin to draff

Related forms

driv·el·er; especially British, driv·el·ler, noundriv·el·ing·ly; especially British, driv·el·ling·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for drivel

Is Christopher Nolan's Inception a masterpiece, drivel, too confusing?
The War Over Inception|Allen Barra|July 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
VinnyB What's crazy, Ms. Brown, is why two respected journalists would waste their time on this drivel.
Best of the Beast Comments|The Daily Beast|January 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
At what date the higher cult of sorcery or magic became the drivel known as witchcraft is uncertain.
The Devil in Britain and America|John Ashton
Quit the drivel of matinee idol longing, and get onto the stage of life and get the bouquets for yourself.
Supreme Personality|Delmer Eugene Croft

I suppose the guy that wrote all this drivel found it in the Argus and justjust dilated on it.
Quarter-Back Bates|Ralph Henry Barbour
I am freezing to death in my own room, and you come in and drivel to me about ivy and hand-organs.
Whirligigs|O. Henry
But when a giant is made to drivel, his drivelings are very little better than those of a pigmy.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for drivel

drivel

/ (ˈdrɪvəl) /

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to allow (saliva) to flow from the mouth; dribble

(intr) to speak foolishly or childishly

noun

foolish or senseless talk

saliva flowing from the mouth; slaver

Derived Forms

driveller or US driveler, noun

Word Origin for drivel

Old English dreflian to slaver; see draff

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