Skip to main content
garrulous

garrulous

3 8.6
Talking too much about small unimportant things
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡɛrələs/
  • Formal
: 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
39 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
talky
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
7 7.0

Talking a lot about small, unimportant things

is excessive speaking especially about trivial or unimportant matters
loquacious
vsgarrulous
  • Formal
5 9.9

A person who talks a lot about small everyday things

is similar but stresses excessive talk specifically about unimportant matters
gabby
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
2 7.9

Talking a lot about small, unimportant things

is excessive talk focused especially on trivial or unimportant matters
talky-talky
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
1 9.6

Full of long conversations that feel boring

is excessive talking that especially centers on trivial or unimportant details
logorrheic
vsgarrulous
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Talking a lot quickly and without stopping

is excessive talking but not necessarily uncontrollable in flow
chattery
vsgarrulous
  • Informal
1 5.4

Talking a lot in a friendly, lively way

is excessive talking that is more focused on trivial content than energy
overtalkative
vsgarrulous
1 6.0

Talking much more than others want to hear

is excessive speech that also often focuses on trivial matters
gobby
vsgarrulous
  • UK
1 9.9

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

is excessive talking but without the loud, brash manner

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
5 9.9
voluble
  • Formal
2 8.6
talkative
33 2.5
chatty
  • Informal
39 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.