drivel

[ driv-uhl ]
See synonyms for drivel on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. saliva flowing from the mouth, or mucus from the nose; slaver.

  2. childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle.

verb (used without object),driv·eled, driv·el·ing or (especially British) driv·elled, driv·el·ling.
  1. to let saliva flow from the mouth or mucus from the nose; slaver.

  2. to talk childishly or idiotically.

  1. Archaic. to issue like spittle.

verb (used with object),driv·eled, driv·el·ing or (especially British) driv·elled, driv·el·ling.
  1. to utter childishly or idiotically.

  2. to waste foolishly.

Origin of drivel

1
before 1000; Middle English dryvelen, variant of drevelen,Old English dreflian; akin to draff

Other words from drivel

  • driv·el·er; especially British, driv·el·ler, noun
  • driv·el·ing·ly; especially British, driv·el·ling·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drivel in a sentence

  • All the way up the mountain he driveled to me about asparagus on toast, a thing that his intelligence in life had skipped.

British Dictionary definitions for drivel

drivel

/ (ˈdrɪvəl) /


verb-els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled
  1. to allow (saliva) to flow from the mouth; dribble

  2. (intr) to speak foolishly or childishly

noun
  1. foolish or senseless talk

  2. saliva flowing from the mouth; slaver

Origin of drivel

1
Old English dreflian to slaver; see draff

Derived forms of drivel

  • driveller or US driveler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012