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garble

[ gahr-buhl ]
/ ˈgɑr bəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR garble

verb (used with object), gar·bled, gar·bling.

to confuse unintentionally or ignorantly; jumble: to garble instructions.
to make unfair or misleading selections from or arrangement of (fact, statements, writings, etc.); distort: to garble a quotation.
Archaic. to take out the best of.

noun

the act or process of garbling.
an instance of garbling; a garbled phrase, literary passage, etc.

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Origin of garble

1400–50; late Middle English garbelen to remove refuse from spices <Old Italian garbellare to sift <Arabic gharbala<Late Latin crībellāre, derivative of crībellum, diminutive of Latin crībrum sieve (see -elle); probably influenced by garboil

OTHER WORDS FROM garble

gar·ble·a·ble, adjectivegarbler, nounun·gar·bled, adjective

Words nearby garble

garbage collection, garbage in, garbage out, garbageman, garbage truck, garbanzo, garble, garbled, Garbo, garboard, garboard strake, Garbo, Greta
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to garble

misinterpret, misquote, mislead, pervert, doctor, color, misstate, confuse, slant, warp, twist, belie, distort, corrupt, jumble, obscure, mutilate, falsify, tamper with

Example sentences from the Web for garble

British Dictionary definitions for garble

garble
/ (ˈɡɑːbəl) /

verb (tr)

to jumble (a story, quotation, etc), esp unintentionally
to distort the meaning of (an account, text, etc), as by making misleading omissions; corrupt
rare to select the best part of

noun

  1. the act of garbling
  2. garbled matter

Derived forms of garble

garbler, noun

Word Origin for garble

C15: from Old Italian garbellare to strain, sift, from Arabic gharbala, from ghirbāl sieve, from Late Latin crībellum small sieve, from crībrum sieve
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