garble

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
garble
    v 1: make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or
         story [syn: {falsify}, {distort}, {garble}, {warp}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Garble \Gar"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Garbled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Garbling}.] [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. gharb[=a]l, gharbil, sieve.]
   1. 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. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

   2. 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]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Garble \Gar"ble\, n.
   1. Refuse; rubbish. [Obs.] --Wolcott.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. pl. Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; -- also
      called {garblings}.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
117 Moby Thesaurus words for "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

    

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