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Glite Dictionary
sleep talking

sleep talking

1 3.8
Saying words out loud while you are not awake and without knowing it
  • noun
  • /sliːp ˈtɔːkɪŋ/
translation icon : sonambulismo
  • When she mentioned our vacation while sleep talking, I realized she was dreaming.

If I can pull up her previous sleep talking segments, are any of these a conversation with herself?

Examples

  • So the incidence of, of sleepwalking and sleep talking is far higher when we're kids.

  • (indistinct sleep talking)

    Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

  • You never sleep talk in English.

    Past Lives (2023)

  • If I can pull up her previous sleep talking segments, are any of these a conversation with herself?

    CreepCast

  • Sleep talking gives me the creeps.

    Killer Joe (2012)

  • And though every night we went to sleep talking about Lindsey coming, every morning we would awaken to discover that he had not come.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • These sleep disorders include sleep terrors, sleep talking, and sleepwalking.

    Academic text (2006)

  • What is that, sleep-talking?

    Hot Rod (2007)

  • (SLEEP TALKING)

    Regression (2015)

  • Last night, I heard my brother sleep talking about his favorite video game.

Synonyms

somniloquism
vssleep talking
  • Specialized
9.9

Talking in your sleep without knowing it

emphasizes speaking aloud while asleep and usually lacking awareness
somniloquy
vssleep talking
  • Specialized
9.9

To talk while you sleep without knowing it

highlights speech during sleep but adds that it usually happens unaware

Antonyms

to be quiet
231 1.0

To stop making noise or talking

How Disturbing

sleep terror disorder
  • Specialized
9.2
nightmare
404 1.5
sleepwalking
11 3.9
sleep talking
1 3.8

Surface Forms

sleep talking singular
sleep talkings plural

Morphology

sleep + talking

The meaning 'speaking aloud while asleep' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sleep' (the state of being asleep) with 'talking' (the act of speaking); the phrase is a simple descriptive compound. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows normal English noun formation (noun + gerund/participle), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Sleep talking comes from the simple picture of someone who is asleep but still saying words out loud. The parts sleep and talking show this: the person is sleeping yet 'talking' without knowing, so the phrase means 'speaking aloud while asleep'.