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garrulous

garrulous

3 8.6
Talking too much about small unimportant things
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡɛrələs/
  • Formal
translation icon : garrulo
  • He became increasingly garrulous as the night went on, discussing every little detail of his day.
  • garrulous old
  • garrulous man
  • garrulous nature

From then on, until he had you completely subjugated, he was always in and out of your room, ubiquitous and garrulous.

Examples

  • Like a lot of reporters, she was not garrulous by nature.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • No, I'm much too garrulous for that.

  • I have become a garrulous old man.

  • I will not get to be a garrulous old man.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The sailor, Marlow, was the most philosophical and most garrulous member of our group.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Are they stiff and withholding or garrulous and foolish?

    Academic text (2009)
  • Maria and I watched the adults growing garrulous and foreign with the help of Mr. Scala's homemade wine.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Juan, our driver, is a good-hearted but garrulous man who chats with all the female passengers, young and old.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Julio, the handyman, was his usual garrulous and excitable self.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The difficulty is that the prevailing image of Polonius today is that of the boring, garrulous, fussy old meddler.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

chatty
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
36 3.3

Talking a lot in a friendly, informal way

is excessive speech that is more negative and trivial in tone
talkative
vsgarrulous
33 2.5

A person who likes to speak a lot with other people

is specifically excessive and often concerned with unimportant matters
loquacious
vsgarrulous
  • Formal
6 9.9

A person who talks a lot about small everyday things

is similar but stresses excessive talk specifically about unimportant matters
talky
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
6 7.0

Talking a lot about small, unimportant things

is excessive speaking especially about trivial or unimportant matters
gabby
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
1 7.9

Talking a lot about small, unimportant things

is excessive talk focused especially on trivial or unimportant matters
talky-talky
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
9.6

Full of long conversations that feel boring

is excessive talking that especially centers on trivial or unimportant details
logorrheic
vsgarrulous
  • Specialized
9.9

Talking a lot quickly and without stopping

is excessive talking but not necessarily uncontrollable in flow
overtalkative
vsgarrulous
6.0

Talking much more than others want to hear

is excessive speech that also often focuses on trivial matters
gobby
vsgarrulous
  • UK
9.9

A person who talks a lot in a loud, rude way

is excessive talking but without the loud, brash manner
chattery
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
5.4

Talking a lot in a friendly, lively way

is excessive talking that is more focused on trivial content than energy

Antonyms

1.0

Not making much noise

5 8.4

A person who does not speak much and seems reserved

How Talkative

garrulous
  • Formal
3 8.6
loquacious
  • Formal
6 9.9
voluble
  • Formal
2 8.6
talkative
33 2.5
chatty
  • Informal
36 3.3

Surface Forms

garrulous positive
garrulouser comparative
garruloust superlative

Morphology

garrulous = garrul + ous

The root 'garrul' is a Latin combining form not attested as a free, familiar English base, so learners cannot reliably infer 'talkative' from the parts despite the productive suffix '-ous'.

Etymology

Garrulous comes from the Latin verb garrire, which means 'to chatter'. Think of someone who loves to 'gab' about small things — that's why garrulous means being too talkative about unimportant matters.