If there is a babel of voices, you hear a lot of people talking at the same time, so that you cannot understand what they are saying.
...a confused babel of sound.
Synonyms: din, disorder, confusion, turmoil More Synonyms of Babel
Babel in British English1
(ˈbeɪbəl)
noun
1. Old Testament
a. Also called: Tower of Babel
a tower presumptuously intended to reach from earth to heaven, the building of which was frustrated when Jehovah confused the language of the builders (Genesis 11:1–9)
b.
the city, probably Babylon, in which this tower was supposedly built
2. (often not capital)
a.
a confusion of noises or voices
b.
a scene of noise and confusion
Word origin
from Hebrew Bābhél, from Akkadian Bāb-ilu, literally: gate of God
Babel in British English2
(Russian ˈbabɪl)
noun
Issak Emmanuilovich (iˈsak imənuˈiləvitʃ) 1894–1941, Russian short-story writer, whose works include Stories from Odessa (1924) and Red Cavalry (1926)
Babel in American English1
(ˈbeɪbəl; ˈbæbəl)
noun
1. Bible
a city in Shinar in which Noah's descendants tried to build a very high tower to reach heaven and were prevented by God from doing soby a confusion of tongues: Gen. 11:1-9
2.
an impracticable scheme
3. [alsob-]
a.
any confusion of voices or sounds; tumult
b.
a place of such confusion
Word origin
Heb bavel < Akkadian bābilu, altered (by folk-etym. assoc. with bāb, gate & ili god) < pre-Akkadian city name babila, Babylon