Babel

¹ American  

[bab-uhl, bah-byil] / ˈbæb əl, ˈbɑ byɪl /

noun

1. Isaak Emmanuilovich 1894–1941, Russian author.

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Babel ² American  

[bey-buhl, bab-uhl] / ˈbeɪ bəl, ˈbæb əl /

noun

1. (in the Bible) an ancient city in the land of Shinar in which the building of a tower Tower of Babel intended to reach heaven was begun and the confusion of the language of the people took place.

2. (usually lowercase) a confused mixture of sounds or voices.

3. (usually lowercase) a scene of noise and confusion.

   Synonyms:

   clamor, bedlam, uproar, turmoil, tumult

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Babel ¹ British  

/ ˈbeɪbəl /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. Also called: Tower of Babel.  a tower presumptuously intended to reach from earth to heaven, the building of which was frustrated when Jehovah confused the language of the builders (Genesis 11:1–9)

   2. the city, probably Babylon, in which this tower was supposedly built

2. (often not capital)

   1. a confusion of noises or voices

   2. a scene of noise and confusion

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Babel ² British  

/ ˈbabɪl /

noun

1. Issak Emmanuilovich (iˈsak imənuˈiləvitʃ) 1894–1941, Russian short-story writer, whose works include Stories from Odessa (1924) and Red Cavalry (1926)

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Other Word Forms

• Babelic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Babel

First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin, from Hebrew Bābhel “Babylon,” from Akkadian bāb-ilim “the gate of the god”

Explanation

Babel is a hubbub, or a confused mix of voices. It might be hard for your grandfather to hear in a restaurant with background music and a loud babel of conversation. The babel of voices in a hotel's hall at night makes it difficult to sleep, and the babel of kids talking all at once is frustrating for a new teacher. Babel can also mean a figurative noise or conversation: "The babel of expert opinions on this issue is confusing me." Babel comes from the Biblical "Tower of Babel" story, in which God confused the builders of a tower to heaven by making them speak different languages.

Example Sentences

Another email showed the group talking about Kuang's novel "Babel" and "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2024

One publication, Babel, cited an unnamed source who said Budanova had been in hospital, and was finishing a course of treatment for the effects of the poisoning.

From Reuters • Nov. 28, 2023

The Tower of Babel remained as incomplete as the Winchester Mystery House.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023

But in times of crisis such as now, the General Assembly and Security Council turn into a Babel in which everybody distrusts everybody else and finding common words becomes impossible.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

No one now reads his scholarly disquisitions on the Tower of Babel, or on the Scribes and the Pharisees.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton