What does driveller mean?
A driveller is a person who talks — or writes — utter nonsense: a fool whose words are empty, silly, or feeble-minded. The word derives from the verb 'drivel', which originally meant to drool or let saliva flow from the mouth, and which by the sixteenth century had acquired the figurative sense of speaking childish or senseless twaddle. A driveller, then, is one whose conversation resembles such drooling: aimless, incoherent, worthless. The insult is most at home in British English, where it serves as a sharp but not vulgar put-down for someone deemed stupid, weak, or tiresomely garrulous. One might dismiss an incompetent critic or a rambling bore as 'an utter driveller'. The literal sense — a person who physically drools, often through age or illness — still exists but is now rare and generally confined to older writing. Contemptuous yet genteel, the word lets a speaker express scorn without resorting to coarser language.
A person who talks or writes foolish nonsense; a fool.
"He dismissed his opponent's argument as the work of a driveller."
Chiefly British; contemptuous but not vulgar.
One who drools or allows saliva to run from the mouth.
"The portrait showed a driveller too far gone to notice his own indignity."
Literal sense, now rare.
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple foolish people.
"The forum was overrun by drivellers posting gibberish."
Call a critic a 'driveller' and you've insulted them with a word that literally once meant 'one who drools' — the metaphor of mindless babbling as verbal slobber goes back centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of driveller
Driveller is formed from the verb 'drivel' plus the agentive suffix '-er'. 'Drivel' comes from Middle English 'drivel', of Old Norse origin (related to Danish 'drevel'), originally meaning to drool or slaver. By the sixteenth century it had developed the figurative sense of talking childishly or nonsensically, and 'driveller' emerged as the term for a person who does so, retaining both its literal and figurative applications.
How driveller is actually used
The word carries strong contempt and is chiefly used in British English; it is informal to mildly derogatory rather than obscene, making it a cutting but socially survivable insult. The literal 'drooling' sense survives mostly in historical or clinical contexts.
Easily confused with driveller
'Drivel' is the nonsense itself (uncountable noun) or the verb meaning to talk nonsense or drool, while 'driveller' is the person who produces it.