garble

[ gahr-buhl ]

verb (used with object)

, gar·bled, gar·bling.

1. to confuse unintentionally or ignorantly; jumble:

   to garble instructions.

2. to make unfair or misleading selections from or arrangement of (fact, statements, writings, etc.); distort:

   to garble a quotation.

3. Archaic. to take out the best of.

noun

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

garble

/ ˈɡɑːbəl /

verb

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

noun

1. 1. the act of garbling
   2. garbled matter

Derived Forms

• ˈgarbler, noun

Other Words From

• garble·a·ble adjective
• garbler noun
• un·garbled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of garble¹

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 ( -elle ); probably influenced by garboil

Word History and Origins

Origin of garble¹

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

Example Sentences

In response, former President Donald Trump launched into a flurry of posts on Truth Social that seemed to garble some of the accusations leveled against him.

From Salon

Voters can expect to hear a lot from Republicans about her many early gaffes and garble.

From Los Angeles Times

There have been varying origin stories regarding its mysterious title, with its overtones of Eastern mysticism; the band’s drummer, Ron Bushy, said in a 2020 interview with the magazine It’s Psychedelic Baby that it grew out of an inebriated garble.

From New York Times

Relatively quickly, he returned to his familiar slippery garble with a hit so ubiquitous it felt like a memory of how things once were.

From New York Times

“I think that this notion that other field offices were involved is a garble,” Mr. Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• misinterpret
• misquote