blather

/ˈblæðər/

Other forms: blathers; blathering; blathered

To blather is to talk on and on without saying anything very important or wise. If you blather all afternoon, it might be a welcome distraction to your friend who's grieving the death of her cat.

You can use the word blather as a noun too: you might hate riding the bus home from school because of all the silly blather around you. At a job, it might be acceptable to blather during your lunch break, but not once you get back to work. The verb came first, and it was originally Scottish, probably from the Old Norse word blaðra, "mutter or wag the tongue."

Definitions of blather

1. verb

   to talk foolishly
   synonyms: babble, blether, blither, smatter

   type of:

   blab, blabber, chatter, clack, gabble, gibber, maunder, palaver, piffle, prate, prattle, tattle, tittle-tattle, twaddle, yammer

   speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
2. noun

   foolish gibberish
   synonyms: blatherskite

   type of:

   gibber, gibberish

   unintelligible talking