Definition of "garble"

garble

/ˈɡɑː(ɹ)bəl/

verb
third-person singular simple present garbles, present participle garbling, simple past and past participle garbled
1. To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert.
  Quotations
  In a word, as the whole relation is carefully garbled of all the levity and looseness that was in it, so it all applied, and with the utmost care, to virtuous and religious uses. None can, without being guilty of manifest injustice, cast any reproach upon it, or upon our design in publishing it.
  1722, Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, The Author's Preface
2. To make false by mutilation or addition.
3. (obsolete) To sift or bolt, to separate the fine or valuable parts of from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt.
noun
countable and uncountable, plural garbles
1. Confused or unintelligible speech.
  Quotations
  The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static.
  1976, Boating (volume 40, numbers 1-2, page 152)
2. (obsolete) Refuse; rubbish.
3. (obsolete) mutilation
  Quotations
  Did not the lady smile upon the garble
  1808, Peter Pindar, letter to Joseph Nollekens
4. (obsolete) Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.