drivel
Americannoun
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saliva flowing from the mouth, or mucus from the nose; slaver.
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childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle.
verb (used without object)
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to let saliva flow from the mouth or mucus from the nose; slaver.
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to talk childishly or idiotically.
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Archaic. to issue like spittle.
verb (used with object)
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to utter childishly or idiotically.
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to waste foolishly.
verb
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to allow (saliva) to flow from the mouth; dribble
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(intr) to speak foolishly or childishly
noun
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foolish or senseless talk
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saliva flowing from the mouth; slaver
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have driveledperfect
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has drivelledperfect 3rd person singular
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has driveledperfect 3rd person singular
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have drivelledperfect
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am drivelingprogressive 1st person singular
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are drivellingprogressive
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has been drivelingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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drivellingparticiple
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have been drivellingperfect progressive
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has been drivellingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is drivellingprogressive 3rd person singular
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drivelingparticiple
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is drivelingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been drivelingperfect progressive
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drivelssingular 3rd person
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are drivelingprogressive
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am drivellingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had driveledperfect
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had drivelledperfect
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had been drivellingperfect progressive
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were drivellingprogressive plural
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had been drivelingperfect progressive
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was drivellingprogressive singular
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driveledsimple
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drivelledsimple
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was drivelingprogressive singular
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driveledparticiple
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were drivelingprogressive plural
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drivelledparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of drivel
before 1000; Middle English dryvelen, variant of drevelen, Old English dreflian; akin to draff
Explanation
Drivel is useless, boring, nonsensical information. Your parents might think the articles in your favorite fashion magazine are drivel (but they'll change their tune when you become a famous designer). Etymologists suspect drivel comes to us from the Old Norse word draf, meaning "malt dregs." This would make sense, given that drivel is usually talk or writing about as useless as dregs. If you don't prepare for an oral report, the unfortunate result may be that your teacher finds your disorganized ramblings to be pure drivel. Drivel also means to dribble saliva. If a friendly dog licks your hand, leaving it wet and gooey, you can assume he driveled on it.
Vocabulary lists containing drivel
There's No There There: Synonyms for "Empty"
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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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.
