garble

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: gar=ble

CIDE DICTIONARY

garble, v. t. [Formerly, to pick out, sort, OF. grabeler, for garbeler to examine precisely, garble spices, fr. LL. garbellare to sift; cf. Sp. garbillar to sift, garbillo a coarse sieve, L. cribellum, dim. of cribrum sieve, akin to cernere to separate, sift (cf. E. Discern); or perh. rather from Ar. gharbāl, gharbil, sieve.].

•  To sift or bolt, to separate the fine or valuable parts of from the coarse and useless parts, or from dros or dirt; as, to garble spices.  [1913 Webster]
•  To pick out such parts of as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert; as, to garble a quotation; to garble an account.  [1913 Webster]

garble, n. 

•  Refuse; rubbish.  Wolcott.  [1913 Webster]
•  Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; -- also called garblings.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

garble, v.tr.
1 unintentionally distort or confuse (facts, messages, etc.).
2 a mutilate in order to misrepresent. b make (usu. unfair or malicious) selections from (facts, statements, etc.).

Derivative

garbler n.

Etymology

It. garbellare f. Arab. garbala sift, perh. f. LL cribellare to sieve f. L cribrum sieve

THESAURUS

garble

Aesopian language, Babel, Greek, adulterate, argot, babble, ball up, becloud, belie, bias, bollix up, burlesque, camouflage, cant, caricature, cipher, code, color, complicate, conceal, confound, confuse, contort, corrupt, cryptogram, disguise, distort, doctor, double Dutch, dress up, embellish, embroider, exaggerate, falsify, foul up, fudge, fumble, get one wrong, get wrong, gibberish, gift of tongues, gild, gloss, gloss over, glossolalia, gobbledygook, hide, jargon, jumble, make unintelligible, mangle, mask, misapply, misapprehend, miscite, miscolor, misconceive, misconstrue, misdeem, misdirect, misexplain, misexplicate, misexpound, misinterpret, misjudge, misquote, misread, misrender, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, mistake, misteach, mistranslate, misunderstand, misuse, mix up, muck up, muddle, mumble, mutilate, mutter, mystify, noise, obfuscate, obscure, overdraw, overstate, parody, pervert, pi, play hob with, riffle, scramble, screw up, secret language, shadow, shuffle, slang, slant, snafu, snarl up, squeeze, strain, strain the sense, titivate, torture, travesty, trick out, tumble, twist, twist the words, understate, varnish, warp, whitewash, wrench

ROGET THESAURUS

garble

Subtraction

VB subduct, subtract, deduct, deduce, bate, retrench, remove, withdraw, take from, take away, detract, garble, mutilate, amputate, detruncate, cut off, cut away, cut out, abscind, excise, pare, thin, prune, decimate, abrade, scrape, file, geld, castrate, eliminate, diminish, curtail, deprive of, weaken.

Exclusion

VB be excluded from, exclude, bar, leave out, shut out, bar out, reject, repudiate, blackball, lay apart, put apart, set apart, lay aside, put aside, relegate, segregate, throw overboard, strike off, strike out, neglect, banish, separate, pass over, omit, garble, eliminate, weed, winnow, be secluded, live secluded, keep aloof, stand, hold oneself aloof, keep in the background, stand in the background, keep snug, shut oneself up, deny oneself, seclude oneself creep into a corner, rusticate, aller planter ses choux, retire, retire from the world, take the veil, abandon, sport one's oak, cut, cut dead, refuse to associate with, refuse to acknowledge, look cool upon, turn one's back upon, shut the door upon, repel, blackball, excommunicate, exclude, exile, expatriate, banish, outlaw, maroon, ostracize, proscribe, cut off from, send to Coventry, keep at arm's length, draw a cordon round, depopulate, dispeople, unpeople.

Misinterpretation

VB misinterpret, misapprehend, misunderstand, misconceive, misspell, mistranslate, misconstrue, misapply, mistake, misrepresent, pervert, explain wrongly, misstate, garble, distort, detort, travesty, play upon words, stretch the sense, strain the sense, stretch the meaning, strain the meaning, wrest the sense, wrest the meaning, explain away, put a bad construction on, put a false construction on, give a false coloring, be at cross purposes, play at cross purposes.

Falsehood

VB be false, be a liar, speak falsely, tell a lie, lie, fib, lie like a trooper, swear false, forswear, perjure oneself, bear false witness, misstate, misquote, miscite, misreport, misrepresent, belie, falsify, pervert, distort, put a false construction upon (misinterpret), prevaricate, equivocate, quibble, palter, palter to the understanding, repondre en Normand, trim, shuffle, fence, mince the truth, beat about the bush, blow hot and cold, play fast and loose, garble, gloss over, disguise, give a color to, give a gloss, put a gloss, put false coloring upon, color, varnish, cook, dress up, embroider, varnish right and puzzle wrong, exaggerate, blague, invent, fabricate, trump up, get up, force, fake, hatch, concoct, romance, cry 'wolf!', dissemble, dissimulate, feign, assume, put on, pretend, make believe, play possum, play false, play a double game, coquet, act a part, play a part, affect, simulate, pass off for, counterfeit, sham, make a show of, malinger, say the grapes are sour, cant, play the hypocrite, sham Abraham, faire pattes de velours, put on the mask, clean the outside of the platter, lie like a conjuror, hand out false colors, hold out false colors, sail under false colors, commend the poisoned chalice to the lips, ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces, deceive.