blather

1 of 2

verb

blath·​er ˈbla-t͟hər 

blathered; blathering ˈbla-t͟h(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

: to talk foolishly at length

—often used with on

blatherer

ˈbla-t͟hər-ər 

noun

blather

2 of 2

noun

1

: voluble nonsensical or inconsequential talk or writing

2

: stir, commotion

Synonyms

Verb

• go on
• maunder
• ramble
• rattle
• run on

Noun

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of blather in a Sentence

Verb

my attention wandered as she blathered on about her endlessly active social life

Noun

listening to a lot of blather from politicians about who's to blame for the bad economy

wanted to retire quietly and without all the blather of an office send-off

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Back to the twists, in the scene where Anna is on the truth serum and is blathering, what is the truth serum that is used and how did that idea come about? —Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2025

In other words, to blather on about how unremarkable iPhone 16 is compared to the one immediately preceding it completely misses the forest for the trees. —Steven Aquino, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

Noun

In the painting Meaningless, 2003, for example, the words meaningless, senseless, and irrelevant eventually give way to blather, blabber, babble, then to drivel and drool, and, finally, to blah-blah-blah. —Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025

After all, that’s arguably the primary purpose of a social network: not the news, not the blather, not the noise. —John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Old Norse blathra; akin to Middle High German blōdern to chatter

First Known Use

Verb

1524, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1719, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blather

• gather
• lather
• rather