as in babble
unintelligible or meaningless talk
to me the baby's speech was simply jabber, but his mother claimed to know exactly what he was saying
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to chat
to engage in casual or rambling conversation
please do not jabber during the rabbi's sermon
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to chatter
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
monkeys jabbering at each other in their cages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of jabber
Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
And given that these are not professional actors, or even (in most cases) people who aspire to be, LaBeouf’s words to them, full of deadly serious jabber about empathy and ego, are pumped up with an intensity that feels overdone and inappropriate.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 May 2025
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
That includes many of his new Florida State teammates who have discovered the defensive end’s propensity for jabber.
—Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2022
Incriminating truths are borne along in the ever-rolling stream of online jabber; how can one man’s toxic underpants, nearly two years old, stand a chance against the slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars, still less against the waves of disinformation?
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2022
Ohio State strength coach Mickey Marotti is getting in on the jibber jabber with some Michigan staffers in this clip.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 27 Nov. 2021
To paint like that required a meditative focus that was miles from my own internal jabber.
—Molly Crabapple, The New York Review of Books, 8 July 2021
Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Feb. 2026
In the customs line, a knot of United interns jabbered about their plans to stay up all night and catch the flight back to Newark the following morning.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2025
In an eventual 57-point Hurricanes victory, Stevenson was balling and jabbering about it, too, to every Wildcats pass catcher within earshot.
—Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The first half hour is filled with the weirdly neutral techno jargon of soldiers jabbering code words into their headphones to what I (as a know-nothing) am tempted to call Mission Control.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, Trump cannot stop jabbering about serving a potential third term, a blatant violation of the Constitution’s cap on terms Presidents can serve these days.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Sometimes the most confident and extroverted C-suite representatives turn to jabbering wrecks when a camera is placed in front of them.
—Nikos Lemanis, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
In our few minutes, Smoltz indulged a couple of jabbering old sports writers.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Asking Eric: These women jabber about the trip I wasn’t invited on.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Noun
Some children clustered there to jabber and run madly about, while others just wanted attention and knew how to get it.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
And given that these are not professional actors, or even (in most cases) people who aspire to be, LaBeouf’s words to them, full of deadly serious jabber about empathy and ego, are pumped up with an intensity that feels overdone and inappropriate.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 May 2025
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
That includes many of his new Florida State teammates who have discovered the defensive end’s propensity for jabber.
—Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2022
Incriminating truths are borne along in the ever-rolling stream of online jabber; how can one man’s toxic underpants, nearly two years old, stand a chance against the slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars, still less against the waves of disinformation?
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2022
Ohio State strength coach Mickey Marotti is getting in on the jibber jabber with some Michigan staffers in this clip.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 27 Nov. 2021
To paint like that required a meditative focus that was miles from my own internal jabber.
—Molly Crabapple, The New York Review of Books, 8 July 2021
Verb
Barely over a week ago the artist sat for a public talk, jabbering with fellow painter Dana Schutz.
—Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Feb. 2026
In the customs line, a knot of United interns jabbered about their plans to stay up all night and catch the flight back to Newark the following morning.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2025
In an eventual 57-point Hurricanes victory, Stevenson was balling and jabbering about it, too, to every Wildcats pass catcher within earshot.
—Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The first half hour is filled with the weirdly neutral techno jargon of soldiers jabbering code words into their headphones to what I (as a know-nothing) am tempted to call Mission Control.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, Trump cannot stop jabbering about serving a potential third term, a blatant violation of the Constitution’s cap on terms Presidents can serve these days.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Sometimes the most confident and extroverted C-suite representatives turn to jabbering wrecks when a camera is placed in front of them.
—Nikos Lemanis, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
In our few minutes, Smoltz indulged a couple of jabbering old sports writers.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Asking Eric: These women jabber about the trip I wasn’t invited on.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jabber
Noun
-
The film almost completely drops any and all scientific babble from the book in favor of character development, action sequences, and emotional gut punches.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Read a book and sip tea in front of the central fireplace, swim between the indoor and outdoor sections of the glimmering pool, and soak your aching quads in the hot tubs under the evergreens and aspens while listening to the peaceful babble of Gore Creek.—
Sarah Kuta,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The two men, who were flanked by their wives, chatted during the parade, which was capped with a flyover of four F-35 military jets.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Flay first revealed that girlfriend Williamson was becoming a team captain while chatting with PEOPLE at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) in February.—
Erin Clements,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The two lovebirds chattered on happily about the book.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Hardcore Survivor fans love to discuss and debate the intricacies of the game and their favorite seasons and winners in the same way that sports fans enjoy chattering nonstop about their teams.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Some of the prattle can feel like treading water, a delaying tactic until the inevitable confrontation scene.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The bizarre reality of daily life in a Southeast Asian scam compound—the tactics, the tone, the mix of cruelty and upbeat corporate prattle—is revealed at an unprecedented level of resolution in a leak of documents to WIRED from a whistleblower inside one such sprawling fraud operation.—
Andy Greenberg,
Wired News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But past royal visits to Washington have sometimes gone awry − from amorous muskrats to a talking hat.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Before talking to the group, McFadden asked them to take a few minutes to interact.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But when the disheveled, withdrawn ex-friend shows up in the locker room gibbering about an evil spirit, Sam is mortified, impulsively knocking to the ground the grungy-looking Mason jar that Tamira has been carrying around.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2023
-
For a while, police interest bent toward a Phud who had been warned he might be eliminated from the program, who had seemed almost exultant about the fire and gibbered gleefully about the media spotlight.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2018
Verb
-
Camille — who runs the Instagram account @thepittdetails, and asked to be identified by only her first name — says that shipping characters makes the show easier to converse about.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Bassil notes that unlike large parties that might be dining out with the express purpose of conversing with each other, solo diners can offer the restaurant an opportunity to more deeply and directly engage with guests.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Perennially delighted and deeply uncool, Tascioni gabbles about the wonders of the city while her interlocutors roll their eyes at her lack of sophistication and taste.—
Lili Loofbourow,
Washington Post,
29 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Jabber.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jabber. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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