palaver

/pə'lɑ:və/
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palaver

The two diplomats engaged in a lengthy palaver to resolve the issue.

Definition

1. Noun: * Idle or empty talk; chatter: Prolonged, often loud, and confusing talk that is of little substance or importance. * Flattery or smooth talk intended to persuade: Insincere or excessive praise used to coax or manipulate someone. * (Historical) A parley or conference: A discussion, especially a long and sometimes tedious one, often between people of different backgrounds or cultures (e.g., between explorers/traders and local communities).

2. Verb (intransitive and transitive): * To talk profusely and idly; to chatter: To engage in lengthy, often trivial, conversation. * To flatter or coax: To use smooth, persuasive, and often insincere talk to influence someone. * To confer or parley: To have a discussion or negotiation, especially a prolonged one.

Usage Examples
  • Noun:
    • After all the political palaver, no real policy changes were made.
    • He used a lot of sweet palaver to get her to agree.
    • The explorer entered into a palaver with the village elders.
  • Verb:
    • They palavered for hours about nothing in particular.
    • She can palaver anyone into doing what she wants.
    • The diplomats palavered late into the night.
Advanced Usage
  • "A lot of palaver about nothing": A common phrase emphasizing that much fuss or talk has been made over something trivial or unimportant.
    • The entire meeting was a lot of palaver about nothing.
Variants and Related Words
  • Palavering (gerund/noun): The act of engaging in palaver.
    • The constant palavering was getting on my nerves.
Synonyms
  • Chatter, babble, prattle, blather (for idle talk).
  • Flattery, cajolery, sweet talk, coaxing (for persuasive talk).
  • Parley, discussion, conference, negotiation (for a formal talk).
Related Phrasal Verbs/Idioms
  • To palaver someone into (doing) something: To coax or flatter someone into a particular action. This is a direct use of the verb.
    • He palavered her into lending him the car.
palaver

The two diplomats engaged in a lengthy palaver to resolve the issue.

Noun
  1. loud and confused and empty talk
    • mere rhetoric
  2. flattery intended to persuade
Verb
  1. have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds
  2. influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    • He palavered her into going along
  3. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly

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