garbled
adjective/ˈɡɑːbld/
/ˈɡɑːrbld/
- (of a message or story) told in a way that confuses the person listening, usually by somebody who is shocked or in a hurry synonym confused
- He gave a garbled account of what had happened.
- There was a garbled message from her on my voicemail.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘sift out, cleanse’): from Anglo-Latin and Italian garbellare, from Arabic ġarbala ‘sift’, perhaps from late Latin cribellare ‘to sieve’, from Latin cribrum ‘sieve’ + -ed.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
garbled