twaddle

American  

[twod-l] / ˈtwɒd l /

noun

1. trivial, feeble, silly, or tedious talk or writing.

   Synonyms:

   rubbish, prattle, nonsense, drivel

---

verb (used without object)

twaddled, twaddling

1. to talk in a trivial, feeble, silly, or tedious manner; prate.

verb (used with object)

twaddled, twaddling

1. to utter as twaddle.

twaddle British  

/ ˈtwɒdəl /

noun

1. silly, trivial, or pretentious talk or writing; nonsense

---

verb

1. to talk or write (something) in a silly or pretentious way

Other Word Forms

• twaddler noun
• twaddly adjective

Etymology

Origin of twaddle

1540–50; variant of twattle, blend of twiddle and tattle

Explanation

Twaddle is utter nonsense. A political candidate may be charming and attractive, but if their speech is full of twaddle, it doesn't make much sense to vote for them. Twaddle is silly foolishness — it's balderdash, drivel, or nonsense. You might dismiss both a billionaire's ridiculous invention and your sibling's fashion magazines as twaddle. If you write a book report for English class without even skimming the book, it will be immediately obvious to your teacher that it's total twaddle. The origin of this word isn't clear, though etymologists know it was originally twittle.

Example Sentences

In an earlier BBC interview, the party's deputy leader Richard Tice dismissed the claims from Farage's former classmates as "made-up twaddle".

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025

Even if they lose this case—and I think they probably will—they’ll still have gotten away with a whole lot of twaddle that should have landed them in hot water.

From Slate • Dec. 11, 2023

To "The View," McCain was more than a spout of parbaked twaddle delivered with tell-it-like-it-is confidence.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 2021

You dismiss heritage as “unctuous twaddle about ancestral bravery in war.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2020

Almost at once the Bogdanov paper excited debate among physicists as to whether it was twaddle, a work of genius, or a hoax.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson