prate
/preit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To talk at length in a foolish, idle, or trivial manner; to chatter or babble about unimportant matters.
- To speak rapidly and continuously without saying anything of substance.
Noun:
- Idle, foolish, or trivial talk; chatter that lacks importance or relevance.
Examples
- Verb:
- He would prate on about his golf game for hours if you let him.
- The politician prated about vague promises without offering any concrete plans.
- Noun:
- I grew tired of his endless prate and excused myself from the conversation.
- The meeting was filled with nothing but corporate prate and buzzwords.
Advanced Usage
- "To prate away": To talk idly for a long period, often wasting time.
- She prated away the entire afternoon instead of working.
- "To prate on/upon/about": To talk incessantly and tediously on a particular (usually trivial) subject.
- He is always prating on about the "good old days."
Variants and Related Words
- Pratler (noun): A person who prates; a chatterer.
- He was known as the office pratler.
- Prating (noun/adj): The act or an instance of prating; characterized by prating.
- Her constant prating was a distraction.
Synonyms
- Verb: Babble, chatter, blather, gabble, jabber, ramble, rattle on.
- Noun: Blather, chatter, drivel, gabble, idle talk, twaddle.
Related Phrases
- Prate and prattle: Often used together to emphasize empty, continuous talk. (Note: 'Prattle' is a closely related word with a similar meaning, often implying more childish or inconsequential talk).
- I have no patience for their prate and prattle.
Notes on Usage
- The word prate often carries a negative or dismissive connotation, implying that the speech is not worth listening to.
- It is a more formal or literary synonym for everyday words like or .
Noun
- idle or foolish and irrelevant talk
Verb
- speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly