garble C2 Topic:Communication US /ˈɡɑː(ɹ)bəl/ See IPA manual Freq #118911 Meanings 1 verb To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose not intended by the original author; to mutilate; to pervert. To garble a quotation. 2 verb To make false by mutilation or addition. The editor garbled the story. 3 verb To sift or bolt; to separate the fine or valuable parts of (something) from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt. To garble spices. 4 noun Confused or unintelligible speech. The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static. Thesaurus Word family Forms garbled Derived forms garbleablegarbledgarblementgarblergarblyungarble Etymology From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”). Topics Communication External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # garble **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** verb, noun **IPA (US):** /ˈɡɑː(ɹ)bəl/ **Frequency rank:** 118911 ## Meanings 1. To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose not intended by the original author; to mutilate; to pervert. 2. To make false by mutilation or addition. 3. To sift or bolt; to separate the fine or valuable parts of (something) from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt. 4. Confused or unintelligible speech. ## Examples - To garble a quotation. - The editor garbled the story. - To garble spices. - The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static. ## Derived Forms - garbleable - garbled - garblement - garbler - garbly - ungarble ## Etymology From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”). ## Topics - Communication markdown