garrulous
Americanadjective
-
given to constant and frivolous chatter; loquacious; talkative
-
wordy or diffuse; prolix
Related Words
See talkative.
Other Word Forms
- garrulously adverb
- garrulousness noun
- nongarrulous adjective
- nongarrulously adverb
- nongarrulousness noun
- ungarrulous adjective
- ungarrulously adverb
- ungarrulousness noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing garrulous
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Kite Runner
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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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.
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
Dabney Coleman, an award-winning television and movie actor best known for his over-the-top portrayals of garrulous, egomaniacal characters, died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 92.
From New York Times • May 17, 2024
Somebody who is always garrulous and tends to go off on tangents when speaking may do this more frequently.
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2024
The academy eventually instituted a 45-second time limit and directed the orchestra to play garrulous winners off stage.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2024
“Sally asked so many garrulous, probative questions that at ten this morning I was reduced to answering, ‘I am sufficiently well, madam.’
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
