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garrulous

American  
[gar-uh-luhs, gar-yuh-] / ˈgær ə ləs, ˈgær yə- /

adjective

  1. excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial matters.

    Synonyms:
    babbling
    Antonyms:
    taciturn, uncommunicative, reticent
  2. wordy or diffuse.

    a garrulous and boring speech.

    Synonyms:
    prolix, verbose

garrulous British  
/ ɡæˈruːlɪtɪ, ˈɡærʊləs /

adjective

  1. given to constant and frivolous chatter; loquacious; talkative

  2. wordy or diffuse; prolix

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See talkative.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of garrulous

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin garrulus “talkative, garrulous,” equivalent to garr(īre) ) “to chatter” + -ulus -ulous

Explanation

A garrulous person just won’t stop talking (and talking, and talking, and talking...). Garrulous comes from the Latin word garrire for "chattering or prattling." If someone is garrulous, he doesn't just like to talk; he indulges in talking for talking’s sake — whether or not there’s a real conversation going on. If you discover that you have a garrulous neighbor sitting next to you on the plane, you might just want to feign sleep, unless you really want to hear everything going through his mind for the entire trip.

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Vocabulary lists containing garrulous

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.

One of those currently standing for Bamban councillor is Miah Mejia's father, Fortunato, a garrulous 69-year-old, who also ran in 2022 as a member of Alice's party, although he lost.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2025

During a difficult project, Margery was either garrulous or silent.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2024

Spend any time with the garrulous Reggio and he’ll invoke wisdom from Nietzsche, Plato, Baudelaire.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023

A garrulous Army veteran, Flanders questioned the wisdom of running the pilot project without first getting funding to scan all of the 55 million slides.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 2022

"One thing I do remember is that he had a thing about socks," says the assistant manager, a fleshy, garrulous man named George Dreeszen.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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