Make Your Point: PRATE & PRATTLE

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PRATE & PRATTLE

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pronounce these words:

For "prate," say "PRATE." Hear it. For "prattle," say "PRAD ull." Hear it.

connect these words to others:

To prate or prattle is to chatter endlessly, like an irritating child.

These words have similar spellings and identical meanings because prattle arose as a frequentative form of prate.

Frequentatives, like they sound, express frequent action: to prattle is to prate a lot, much like to sparkle is to spark a lot, to glimmer is to gleam a lot, to slither is to slide a lot, to dabble is to dab a lot, and to s______ is to scud a lot.

Oh, scud? Okay. To scud is to move along quickly. Does that help you call to mind its frequentative form, s______?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Prate" and "prattle" have been around in English since the fifteenth century. They probably came from a Middle Dutch word that meant the same thing: praten, "to chatter."

To prate, or to prattle, is to talk on and on in a childish, annoying way.

grammatical bits:

Parts of speech:

They both work as verbs, the intransitive kind:
"They keep prating."
"They keep prattling."

And they both work as nouns, usually the uncountable kind:
"None of your prate, please."
"None of your prattle, please."

"Prate" is much more often a verb than a noun. For "prattle," it's about half and half: often a verb, and often a noun.

Other forms:

Prated, prating; prattled, prattling.

how to use them:

Pick the formal, semi-common words "prate" and "prattle" when you want to complain about how irksome it is when someone keeps talking on and on about something unimportant. Just be cautious: these words are quite insulting when applied to adults; they imply a selfish, oblivious childishness.

Say that someone is prating (or prattling), often on, and often about some topic: "He keeps prating." "She prattles on and on through dinner." "They're prating about that candidate again."

Or, use the word "prating" (or "prattling") as an adjective and refer to someone as a prating fool, a prattling idiot, a prating politician, etc.

examples:

"Claims of widespread electoral fraud would be spurious even if they weren't made by a prating fool in front of a Philadelphia landscaping firm."
— Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 9 November 2020

"I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes."
— Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, 2005

has this page helped you understand "prate" and "prattle"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about these words, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study them:

Explain the meaning of "prate" and "prattle" without saying "chatter" or "blather."

try them out:

The words "prate" and "prattle" imply selfishness and childishness: that some fool is voicing every single thought in their head, under the mistaken notion that everyone around them must be interested.

With that in mind, think of a person you know who talks a lot. Would you say that they prate and prattle, or are those words too harsh for this person? Why?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "It Sounds Wiser in Latin."

Longtime readers will recognize this game. It's back, with fresh new (okay, mostly ancient) Latin idioms!

Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related English words. For example, the clue "Something anguine reminds you of a snake" could help you determine that "Latet anguis in herba" means "A snake hides in the grass."

You can see the answers by scrolling to the bottom of the issue.

Try these today:

1. Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
2. Cuilibet fatuo placet sua calva.
3. De gustibus non est disputandum.
4. Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta.
5. Iucundum est narrare sua mala.

A. Every fool is pleased with his own folly.
B. It's pleasant to recount your troubles.
C. The greater the degeneration of the republic, the more laws it has.
D. There is no disputing about tastes.
E. Unsolicited excuse, manifest accusation. (He who excuses himself, accuses himself.)

To peek at the clues, follow the links:

1. Something fatuous is...
2. If you have gusto for something, you...
3. Something inenarrable is...

review these words:

1. An opposite of PRATING and PRATTLING is

A. PERIPATETIC: traveling around regularly from place to place, or seeming to.
B. PITHY: speaking or writing briefly, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
C. PICAYUNE: small, petty, trivial, or unimportant, as if worth five cents or less.

2. In an op-ed, you're most likely to read about a "prating _____."

A. ally
B. imbecile
C. well-wisher

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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