twaddle

American  

[twod-l] / ˈtwɒd l /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   rubbish, prattle, nonsense, drivel

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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

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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

See Examples For:

twaddle twaddled twaddling

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

School teachers suffer a good deal from having to listen to this sort of twaddle from proud parents, but they usually get their own back when the time comes to write the end-of-term reports.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

“A gift for all of us to enjoy,” The Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner twaddled this week.

From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2013

He hummed a blithe San Salvador Opera Company tune; he grinned, smirked, bowed, pirouetted, twiddled, twaddled, twisted, and tooralooed.

From Waifs and Strays Part 1 by O. Henry

The first crucifixion Eden saw he turned as sick as a dog—the first crucifixion Woodcock saw he twaddled in the crucified's ear, left him on the cross, and went on his way well pleased.

From It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade

And he twaddled of VON MOLTKE, and his German Army Corps; "Flattering the tax-payers' vanity," and much similar insanity, In a style that lacked urbanity, till the thing became a bore.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, October 31, 1891 by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand

They had twaddled and stormed about his immorality, but his praise of Napoleon sent them into diabolic frenzy.

From The Tragedy of St. Helena by Walter Runciman

If Jules existed in my real life, I'd have started screening calls to avoid her twaddling on months ago.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 27, 2010

You feel that their edgy suburban twaddling may be the way Hollywood heavies really behave in private.

From Time Magazine Archive

He is seated at a table with three other men, twaddling a fat cigar between the finger and thumb of one hand and holding five fanned cards in the other.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

If we go on twaddling thus about the Greeks and Romans, we shall lose the thread of our discourse, and possibly be found tripping on the subject of Wolf's Prolegomena.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847 by Various

Judas, we will canonize him;   For Cant is his hobby and twaddling his bliss; And tho' wise men may pity and wits may despise him,   He'll make but the better shop-saint for all this.

From The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes by William Michael Rossetti