prate

American  

[preyt] / preɪt /

verb (used without object)

prated, prating

1. to talk excessively and pointlessly; babble.

   They prated on until I was ready to scream.

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verb (used with object)

prated, prating

1. to utter in empty or foolish talk.

   to prate absurdities with the greatest seriousness.

noun

1. act of prating.

2. empty or foolish talk.

prate British  

/ preɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to talk idly and at length; chatter

2. (tr) to utter in an idle or empty way

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noun

1. idle or trivial talk; prattle; chatter

Other Word Forms

• prater noun
• pratingly adverb
• unprating adjective

Etymology

Origin of prate

1375–1425; late Middle English praten (v.) < Middle Dutch praeten. See prattle

Explanation

To prate means to talk on and on about something. While it may be interesting to hear about other people’s vacations, when they prate about them until the wee hours, it becomes intolerable. There are more than a few instances where the famous have discouraged prating. Nursing great Clara Barton discouraged prating about “moral influences” when she encouraged a cigarette and a good, stiff glass of whiskey for Civil War soldiers. Herman Melville warned against mocking a lover’s wounded heart, saying “the stabbed man knows the steel; prate not to him that it is only a tickling feather.”

Example Sentences

You need to hold your nose through the caps on “Resenters” and the verb prate, but the professor has a point.

From Slate • Oct. 17, 2019

He’ll bray, he’ll bate, he’ll prate, he’ll Berate, and he’ll inveigh, Then once we’ve been diverted, he’ll cause a new melee.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2018

Marriages of love become rarer year after year, while those of convenience are proportionately on the increase… and we prate of the holy marriage covenant!”

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2014

This two-hour prate across Greek gods, gold-digging moles and burglar horses is amusing enough, but doesn't feel like it's for now, or for us.

From The Guardian • May 8, 2013

‘None of yer prate, now,’ say the surgeons, ‘there’s wan thing which can be done, and that same thing is to keep from all unnatural excitement from this time forward.’

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White