Well, this is what characterizes a rumor:

• A rumor is a piece of information or a story that has not been verified, meaning that the person telling it doesn’t know if it’s true or false.

• Rumors spread from person to person, or can spread from one person to a whole bunch of people at once.

• Rumors can change slightly each time they’re told, so they get more exaggerated over time.

• Most people who spread rumors don’t care if the story is true of not, and don’t bother to check it out.

• A rumor might be true, it might be partially true and partially made up, or it might be totally made up. Unless somebody can definitely say that a story is real or fake, it will stay a rumor.

Gossip, on the other hand, is a little different:

• Gossip is talk that is somehow “juicy,” meaning it deals with subjects that are shocking or personal.

• Gossip is usually about things like love and relationships, or private things that people don’t talk openly about.

• Gossip about a person is usually spread behind that person’s back.

• Gossip can be true, false, or a rumor.

• When a piece of gossip is known to be false, it’s a lie, plain and simple.

• Someone who spreads a lot of gossip can be called “a gossip.”

• If a piece of gossip about somebody is true, it can still be very hurtful because that information may be private and personal.

Here’s an example of gossip: “Jane told me that when she tried to ask Craig out to a movie, he got so nervous that he almost fainted!”

Now that we’ve handled the definitions, let’s take a closer look at the Different Types of gossip and rumors.