Definition

1. Noun: * Idle or empty talk; chatter: Prolonged, often loud, and confusing talk that is of little substance or importance. * Flattery or smooth talk intended to persuade: Insincere or excessive praise used to coax or manipulate someone. * (Historical) A parley or conference: A discussion, especially a long and sometimes tedious one, often between people of different backgrounds or cultures (e.g., between explorers/traders and local communities).

2. Verb (intransitive and transitive): * To talk profusely and idly; to chatter: To engage in lengthy, often trivial, conversation. * To flatter or coax: To use smooth, persuasive, and often insincere talk to influence someone. * To confer or parley: To have a discussion or negotiation, especially a prolonged one.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • After all the political palaver, no real policy changes were made.
  • He used a lot of sweet palaver to get her to agree.
  • The explorer entered into a palaver with the village elders.
• Verb:
  • They palavered for hours about nothing in particular.
  • She can palaver anyone into doing what she wants.
  • The diplomats palavered late into the night.

Advanced Usage

• "A lot of palaver about nothing": A common phrase emphasizing that much fuss or talk has been made over something trivial or unimportant.
  • The entire meeting was a lot of palaver about nothing.

Variants and Related Words

• Palavering (gerund/noun): The act of engaging in palaver.
  • The constant palavering was getting on my nerves.

Synonyms

• Chatter, babble, prattle, blather (for idle talk).
• Flattery, cajolery, sweet talk, coaxing (for persuasive talk).
• Parley, discussion, conference, negotiation (for a formal talk).

Related Phrasal Verbs/Idioms

• To palaver someone into (doing) something: To coax or flatter someone into a particular action. This is a direct use of the verb.
  • He palavered her into lending him the car.

Noun

1. loud and confused and empty talk
   • mere rhetoric
2. flattery intended to persuade

Verb

1. have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds
2. influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
   • He palavered her into going along
3. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly