garbled message
Distorted transmitted information
A garbled message is communication that has become confused, distorted, or unintelligible—whether through transmission errors, misremembering, or deliberate scrambling.
The phrase often implies that an original clear meaning exists but has been corrupted along the way: The garbled message came through full of static, By the time the rumor reached me, it was a garbled message bearing little resemblance to what actually happened.
- staticWithout motion or change
- radio staticNoise between broadcast signals
- white noiseConstant random sound
- noiseUnwanted auditory disturbance
- distortedMisshapen from original form
scrambled · unintelligible · interference · corrupted · jumbled · muddled · transmission · radio · bad connection · signal · fuzzy · cryptic · coded · morse code · broken · choppy · incoherent · lost
- communication failsmisunderstanding, autocorrect fail, typo, wrong number, reply all
- miscommunicationmix-up, mixed signals, confusion, crossed wires, misinterpreted
- misunderstandingsmisunderstanding, misinterpretation, misconception, misreading, miscommunication
- mix-upsmix-up, mistake, error, confusion, mix
- language nuancesnuance, idiom, idioms, connotation, denotation
- signal problemsbad connection, dead zone, dead zones, dropped calls, no signal