blathering

1 of 2

noun

blath·​er·​ing ˈbla-t͟h(ə-)riŋ 

plural blatherings

: foolish or nonsensical talk or writing

… liked to conduct five meetings at once, moving back and forth between them, looking for the moment when the blathering was done and the dealing had begun.

—Karen Breslau

… the self-justifying blatherings of politicians …

—Robertson Davies

blathering

2 of 2

adjective

: engaging in or characterized by foolish or nonsensical talk or writing

… the rantings and ravings of blathering scientists and religious literalists …

—Michael Gregory

… the decade's salient features: blathering ignorance, smug hypocrisy, institutionalized fraud and vengeful polarization—all too dangerous to be merely absurd.

—H. Jack Geiger

Examples of blathering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And indeed, no matter the blathering on ESPN, no one within USC is under the impression Riley enters USC’s first year in the Big Ten in danger or under pressure from within. —Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024

Latino leaders trampled over themselves in the wake of the racist tape to demand that De León resign, even though his blatherings broke no laws. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2023

No, the Jordan Montgomery Revenge Game may not spawn a limited Netflix series, but a strong showing against the club that traded him despite gobbling up largely quality innings will certainly incite some blathering back in New York. —Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 5 Aug. 2022

Such blathering might play for the Stephen Millers of the world, but Elder’s thoughts on the matter are wildly out of touch with Californians. —Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2021

During the same period, though, Nietzsche was castigating German tendencies toward nationalist chauvinism and anti-Semitism—conspicuous elements in Wagner’s political blatherings. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2019

Many viewers had moved on by the time Biden did some of his worst blathering. —Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2019

Sure, there’s Dodd-Frank, which passed in 2010 after congressional blathering about arresting bankers. —Andy Kessler, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2018

The Union-Tribune’s 1994 SDMA review was the first to lament the nonstop blathering by the audience. —George Varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, 15 Mar. 2018

Adjective

In the end, the story was driven by a blathering press release full of typically questionable science buzzwords. —Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1826, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1825, in the meaning defined above