Synonym Chooser

How is the word talkative different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of talkative are garrulous, loquacious, and voluble. While all these words mean "given to talk or talking," talkative may imply a readiness to engage in talk or a disposition to enjoy conversation.

a talkative neighbor

When is garrulous a more appropriate choice than talkative?

In some situations, the words garrulous and talkative are roughly equivalent. However, garrulous implies prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity.

garrulous traveling companions

When can loquacious be used instead of talkative?

The words loquacious and talkative are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, loquacious suggests the power of expressing oneself articulately, fluently, or glibly.

a loquacious spokesperson

Where would voluble be a reasonable alternative to talkative?

Although the words voluble and talkative have much in common, voluble suggests a free, easy, and unending loquacity.

a voluble raconteur

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of talkative The way the car flows down twisty roads is simply serene due to its talkative and responsive electrohydraulic steering, wonderful chassis communication, minimal body roll, and excellent grip. Peter Nelson, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2025 Other characters include a talkative nurse, a wise parrot named Leonard, and a grumpy cat named Bitchy. Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025 During the 114th Congress, he was ranked by C-SPAN, which tracks the number of days lawmakers spoke during its live broadcasts of congressional proceedings, as one of the least talkative lawmakers on the House floor. Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 12 July 2025 Since October, Jackson spoke 50% more words on the bench than Sotomayor who was the next talkative, according to statistics compiled by Adam Feldman and Jake S. Truscott for the Empirical SCOTUS blog. Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 6 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for talkative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for talkative
Adjective
  • Whitney Decker told the detective her ex-husband had always been communicative about their children and previously returned them when he was supposed to.
    Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Communicate And Collaborate On AI Usage Rules Be collaborative and communicative.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Following openers Chanel Beads and The Japanese House, the New Zealand singer delivered a liberated 90-minute set fueled by her breathy, conversational vocals and raw, unpredictable movements.
    Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Eventually, Smith landed a teaching position at an eikaiwa, a private language school focused on conversational English, in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan and moved in March of this year.
    Celia Fernandez, CNBC, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Kirk, an outspoken and devout protestant Christian, was supposedly considering Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy around the time of his death, in the telling of some online.
    Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Terrion is an outspoken person.
    DJ Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Israel, a nation which Kirk was a vocal supporter of, has also emerged as a flashpoint following his death.
    Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The actor, who grew up in a working-class family in Santa Monica, spent decades as a vocal climate activist, founding The Redford Center, dedicated to raising awareness for environmental causes, with his late son James in 2005.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The loquacious Ray Montemayor, who Ziggy helped convert from a street hockey goalie to a state champion ice hockey keeper, had a much better anecdote.
    M.L. Elrick, Freep.com, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Rasul Douglas isn’t the most loquacious person.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Without holistic profiling, teams miss how upstream bottlenecks, inefficient data serialization or chatty APIs cascade into latency and resource waste.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • One of my chattiest team members wants to catch up.
    R29 Team, Refinery29, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The two will face off in the November election in a race to replace outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan, who is campaigning for Michigan governor as an independent in the 2026 election.
    Dana Afana, Freep.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The neighbor, according to a search warrant reviewed by Forbes, was an outgoing inventory management specialist at the Quantico, Virginia, headquarters of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
    Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Just imagine what would have happened to that mouthy, fearless girl coming of age in an Argentina dominated by the brutal military juntas of the late seventies and eighties.
    Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
  • Lipman and Cowen confirmed that no one else was even considered for the role of mouthy matriarch Debbie Novotny.
    Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Talkative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/talkative. Accessed 24 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on talkative

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!