1
as in gobbledegook
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions the reporter listened to the senator's double-talk for about 30 seconds, and then repeated the question

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2
as in nonsense
unintelligible or meaningless talk the man on the sidewalk rattled off some double-talk, shoved the petition in my face, and before I realized it, I had added my signature to the list

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of double-talk Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu. Barak Ravid, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024 The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats. Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024 Pat Paulsen, a master of dry wit, delivered droll, double-talk editorials on social issues before mounting a presidential campaign in 1968 with the Straight Talkin’ American Government (STAG) Party. Fred A. Bernstein, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023 What new form of narrative, what gory amalgam of truth and spectacle, what double-talking rough beast approaches? James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2023 If his pre-prison projects were almost entirely freestyled, these songs are more tightly written, honoring the fallen, indicting the double-talk of the industry, powered by the energy of a bowstring being pulled back for a half-decade. Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for double-talk
Noun
  • The art world, like the artwork itself, exists in a delicate balance of elitism and absurdity, meaning and nonsense.
    Natalie Stoclet, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
  • The basic idea here is that Vince Vaughn is doing his mid-aughts-dirtbag Vince Vaughn thing but on Christmas — a premise that’s laid on a foundation of plausible-sounding nonsense.
    Katie Rife, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Yet Biden administration officials have not espoused the same explicitly anti-media rhetoric as Trump and his top allies have for years.
    Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Officials in both countries know that Trump is a dealmaker, and some believe the conduct of his presidency will ultimately be less harsh than his rhetoric.
    Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Apologies to the Lois Lane stans out there, but Adams is mostly on hand in these movies to deliver stern gobbledygook (something about isotopes?) and stare at Henry Cavill’s cheekbones.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
  • So, of course, their stony-eyed dedication to taking this inspirational gobbledygook seriously has gone viral.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • She was getting winded on our walk, and her prattle was broken up by heavy breaths.
    Joshua Cohen, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2024
  • The larcenous prattle is, in this sense, a typically Wiig-ian set piece: sunny, strained and flailing for dignity.
    Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
  • In addition to all that work, Coffin voices the demented gibberish spewed by the Minions, the bright yellow creatures who work alongside Gru. Renaud, who co-helmed the fourth installment with Patrick Delage, says that the French influence was also there from the start.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 10 July 2024
  • For example, at one point the voice suddenly sped up and spewed gibberish.
    Will Knight, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • The world is filled with chatter about whether AI can fulfill its promise in delivering ROI to the enterprise.
    R. Scott Raynovich, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The vibe of the evening is a slow crescendo, our chatter building to the point where three or four of us are simultaneously talking into our phones and thrusting them in front of one another, all with a remarkable sense of good cheer.
    Joe Ray, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Is there a company that prides itself on an absence of rigmarole?
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 July 2024
  • Last season’s nail-biting seven-game battle was famously known as the I-80 series because both teams opted for the approximately 90-minute (depending on traffic) bus ride rather than the rigmarole of a short flight.
    Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 16 Apr. 2024
Noun
  • Worse, such jabber crowds out essential coverage of genuine threats to democracy and the visions of the two parties.
    Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
  • Jacobs-Jenkins renders him as a wry, friendly figure who occasionally takes over the bodies of the other characters to explain what is happening beneath their jabber.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 5 June 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Double-talk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/double-talk. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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