MEANING
To talk at length in a foolish, self-important, or unhelpful way.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- prate about morality
- prate on
On the page
He prated about courage from the safety of his locked study.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- prate
- Past tense
- prated
- Past participle
- prated
- Present participle
- prating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- prate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are prating
- Present perfect
- have/has prated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been prating
- Past
- prated
- Past continuous
- was/were prating
- Past perfect
- had prated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been prating
- Future
- will prate
- Future continuous
- will be prating
- Future perfect
- will have prated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been prating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: prate; prates; prated; prated; prating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: uncommon. Third-person singular: prates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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