drivel C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary US /ˈdrɪvəl/ UK /ˈdrɪvəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun silly nonsense; foolish talk He dismissed the report as superstitious drivel. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · silly nonsense; foolish talk nonsensegibberishbalderdashtwaddlerubbishclaptrapprattle ↔ Opposites sensewisdom Word family Derived forms drivellerdriveling Related forms drooldribble Etymology AI details From Middle English 'drevelen', from Old English 'dreflian' ('to dribble, slobber'); the sense of foolish talk derives from the image of slobbering speech. dreflian Old English View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # drivel **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈdrɪvəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈdrɪvəl/ ## Meanings 1. silly nonsense; foolish talk ## Examples - He dismissed the report as superstitious drivel. ## Synonyms - nonsense - gibberish - balderdash - twaddle - rubbish - claptrap - prattle ## Antonyms - sense - wisdom ## Derived Forms - driveller - driveling ## Related Forms - drool - dribble ## Roots and Affixes - Root: dreflian ## Etymology From Middle English 'drevelen', from Old English 'dreflian' ('to dribble, slobber'); the sense of foolish talk derives from the image of slobbering speech. ## AI Etymology Drivel is from Middle English 'drevelen', from Old English 'dreflian' ('to dribble, slobber'); the sense of foolish talk derives from the image of slobbering speech. The immediate etymological form is Old English dreflian. In present use as noun and verb, it means "silly nonsense; foolish talk", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include drool and dribble; derived forms include driveller and driveling. Its contrast set includes sense and wisdom, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown