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View synonyms for

heckle

[hek-uhl]

verb (used with object)

heckled, heckling 
  1. to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  2. hackle.



noun

  1. hackle.

heckle

/ ˈɛə /

verb

  1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts

  2. Also: hackle. hatchel.(tr) to comb (hemp or flax)

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an instrument for combing flax or hemp

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • heckler noun
  • ˈ𳦰 noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heckle1

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen “to comb flax”; akin to hackle 1, hatchel
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heckle1

C15: Northern and East Anglian form of hackle
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The World War II veterans heckled them: “Why don’t you go to Hanoi?”

From

"Why should it? For doing my job?" she retorts, her heckles immediately raised at any suggestion of a conflict of interest.

From

And as she arrived at the building, his side heckled her by shouting: "Why are you lying on that boy?"

From

Passersby who witnessed this altercation began to heckle the police, demanding they take the handcuffs off Smith.

From

Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown was heckled on Friday as he formally welcomed crowds to a service marking Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance for military servicemen and servicewomen.

From

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