to jumble (a story, quotation, etc), esp unintentionally
2.
to distort the meaning of (an account, text, etc), as by making misleading omissions; corrupt
3. rare
to select the best part of
noun
4.
a.
the act of garbling
b.
garbled matter
Derived forms
garbler (ˈgarbler)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Old Italian garbellare to strain, sift, from Arabic gharbala, from ghirbāl sieve, from Late Latin crībellum small sieve, from crībrum sieve
garble in American English
(ˈgɑrbəl)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈgarbled or ˈgarbling
1.
a. Obsolete
to sort by sifting
b. Rare
to select the best parts of
2.
to suppress or distort parts of (a story, etc.) in telling, so as to mislead or misrepresent
3.
to confuse or mix up (a quotation, story, message, etc.) unintentionally, as through inaccurate copying or poor radio transmission
noun
4.
the act or result of garbling
Derived forms
garbler (ˈgarbler)
noun
Word origin
ME garbelen < It garbellare, to sift < garbello, a sieve < Ar gharbāl, earlier ghirbāl < LL cribellum, small sieve, dim. of L cribrum, a sieve, akin to cernere: see critic
Examples of 'garble' in a sentence
garble
Encryption garbles data using irreversible mathematical functions.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Synonyms of 'garble'
jumble, confuse, mix up
distort, doctor, twist, corrupt
More Synonyms of garble
1 (verb)
Synonyms
jumble
All our old clothes were jumbled together in the attic.
confuse
mix up
2 (verb)
Synonyms
distort
The media distorts reality.
doctor
They doctored the photograph.
twist
It's a shame the way the media can twist your words.
corrupt
Computer hackers often break into important sites to corrupt files.
pervert
attempting to pervert the course of justice
slant
The coverage was deliberately slanted to make the home team look good.
tamper with
mutilate
The writer's verdict was that his screenplay had been mutilated.
misinterpret
The Prince's words had been misinterpreted.
misrepresent
The extent of the current strike is being misrepresented.
falsify
The charges against him include fraud, bribery, and falsifying business records.
misquote
Her words were misquoted.
misreport
misstate
The reports misstated crucial facts.
mistranslate
Opposites
clarify
,
decipher
,
make intelligible
Additional synonyms
in the sense of corrupt
Computer hackers often break into important sites to corrupt files.
Synonyms
distort,
doctor,
tamper with
in the sense of doctor
Definition
to change in order to deceive
They doctored the photograph.
Synonyms
change,
alter,
interfere with,
disguise,
pervert,
fudge,
tamper with,
tinker with,
misrepresent,
falsify,
meddle with,
mess about with
in the sense of falsify
Definition
to make a report or evidence false by alteration in order to deceive
The charges against him include fraud, bribery, and falsifying business records.