: made unclear or confusing : distorted or mixed up
a garbled message
garbled speech
… scientific cranks—those folks who concoct garbled and grandiose pseudo-scientific theories …—Robert W. Wilson
A garbled group of syllables came over the speaker.—Tom Clancy
But so much happened afterward to him that his five-day drive from Cracow to Warsaw soon became a garbled fading memory.—Herman Wouk
Since the algorithm relies on the absolute accuracy of everything it has read to build the file, garbled information could lead to any number of mistakes.—Paul C. Schuytema
Cite this Entry
“Garbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garbled. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.
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