Garrulous
— talking much especially about unimportant things
Garrulous means excessively talkative, especially about trivial or unimportant things. While a loquacious person simply talks a lot, a garrulous person not only talks endlessly but tends to ramble about things nobody particularly cares about.
The word carries a distinctly negative tone — being called garrulous implies that the talking is tedious and unwelcome. A garrulous neighbour traps you with stories about their garden; a garrulous colleague fills meetings with pointless anecdotes. The key distinction is not just volume of speech but its lack of substance.
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Memory Mnemonic
GORILLA US
The keyword GORILLA US comes from how Garrulous sounds when spoken aloud. This pronunciation connection makes it easy to recall the keyword whenever you hear or see the word.
Memory Link
The GORILLA kept grunting at US non-stop—talking much about unimportant things like bananas!
Imagine a GORILLA grunting at US non-stop, going on and on about bananas and trees and nothing of any importance — endlessly talkative about the most trivial things, impossible to shut up. GORILLA US gives you the keyword, and the image of a primate babbling incessantly about nonsense captures the meaning of garrulous perfectly. Visualise the gorilla following you around, grunting and gesturing about nothing, while you desperately look for an escape route.
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Usage Examples
- The garrulous old man at the bus stop talked for twenty minutes about the weather without pausing for breath.
- Her garrulous uncle dominated every family dinner with long-winded stories no one had asked to hear.
- The meeting ran an hour over schedule because of one garrulous board member who could not stay on topic.
- He became increasingly garrulous after a few drinks, rambling about his school days to anyone who would listen.
- The interviewer struggled to redirect the garrulous candidate back to the actual questions.
Etymology of Garrulous
From Latin garrulus, meaning "chattering" or "talkative," derived from garrire meaning "to chatter" or "to prattle." The Latin root emphasises not just speech but aimless, babbling speech — talking for the sake of talking rather than to communicate anything meaningful.
Synonyms & Antonyms of Garrulous
Synonyms
Antonyms
Common Collocations with Garrulous
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