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Palaver
01
trivial or meaningless talk
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Plural form
palavers
Examples
The meeting was filled with palaver and no real decisions were made.
02
smooth talk intended to persuade or influence someone
Examples
He won their consent with a little palaver.
03
a lot of unnecessary effort, trouble, or fuss over something trivial
Dialect
British
BritishInformal
Examples
The palaver of explaining every step bored the audience quickly.
to palaver
01
to hold a prolonged discussion, often between people of different backgrounds or parties, usually to resolve a matter
Grammatical Information
Action verb
Regular
Present tense
palaver
3rd person singular
palavers
Past simple
palavered
Past participle
palavered
Examples
Tribal leaders palavered to settle disputes peacefully.
02
to influence or persuade someone gently, often using flattery or coaxing
Examples
She palavered the child into taking his medicine.
03
to aimlessly talk a lot
Examples
Instead of getting straight to the point, he tends to palaver endlessly, causing meetings to drag on.
