talkative
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
Talkative, garrulous, loquacious characterize a person who talks a great deal. Talkative is a neutral or mildly unfavorable word applied to a person who is inclined to talk a great deal, sometimes without significance: a talkative child. The garrulous person talks with wearisome persistence, usually about personal and trivial things: a garrulous old man. A loquacious person, intending to be sociable, talks continuously and at length: a loquacious host.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of talkative
A late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at talk, -ative
Explanation
A person who is talkative likes to talk — she's friendly and ready to gab at all times about just about anything. We all have conversations, but some people enjoy talking more than others: those people are talkative. They find it easy to strike up a conversation, unlike others who may be shy. Being talkative is associated with being friendly. Talkative people can also be described as chatty, garrulous, loquacious, talky, and likely to talk your ear off. If you don’t feel like chatting, you'd better avoid talkative people. The root word of talkative is the Middle English tale, or "story."
Vocabulary lists containing talkative
Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ive, -ative, -itive
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Talkative, artistic, and empathetic, she was more focused on her hobbies, friends, and latest love interest, her friends said.
From The Guardian • Oct. 21, 2019
“To this day, when I’m interviewing someone, I try to channel Sam,” Cohen wrote in his 2012 memoir “Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 25, 2019
Talkative cornerback Jalen Ramsey and the Jaguars vaunted defense have looked merely mortal in recent outings.
From Reuters • Nov. 15, 2018
“Serious law. Serious time. There’s two fugitives from it now. An old man and his cat, last seen heading north from California. Talkative cat. Described as ‘uppity’.”
From Nature • Jul. 31, 2018
"Talkative, my child, excessive verbosity—Mr. Vereker will doubtless remember our conversation on music," said he, with a whimsical glance at me.
From Peregrine's Progress by Farnol, Jeffery
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
