1. The definition of garble is to do something to a message so that it cannot be understood, or the reproduction of a sound or story so that the original meaning is distorted or lost.
   1. When you are told a story about why someone was late but you completely miss the point of the story and retell an incorrect and messed up account of what happened, this is an example of when you garble the story.
   2. When a radio frequency transmitting a broadcast doesn't come in clearly and the voices sound distorted, this is an example of when the broadcast is garbled.

garble

garble

transitive verb

gar·bled, gar·bling, gar·bles

1. To mix up or distort to such an extent as to make misleading or incomprehensible: The report garbled all the historical facts.
2. To scramble (a signal or message), as by erroneous encoding or faulty transmission.
3. Archaic To sort out; cull.

noun

The act or an instance of garbling: a garble of nonsense syllables.

Origin of garble

Middle English garbelen, to inspect and remove refuse from spices, from Anglo-Norman garbeler, to sift, and from Medieval Latin garbellāre, both from Arabic ġarbala, to select, from ġirbāl, sieve, from Late Latin crībellum, diminutive of Latin crībrum; see krei- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

• gar′bler

  noun

garble

Verb

(third-person singular simple present garbles, present participle garbling, simple past and past participle garbled)

1. To pick out such parts of as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert; as, to garble a quotation; to garble an account.
2. To make false by mutilation or addition

   The editor garbled the story.

Noun

(plural garbles)

1. (obsolete) refuse; rubbish

2. (obsolete) Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.

Origin

Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare, from Arabic غربل (ğárbala, “to sift”).