Basic Details
Word: Garrulous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Talking too much, especially about things that do not matter.
Synonyms: talkative, chatty, loquacious
Antonyms: quiet, silent, reserved, taciturn
How to Spell Garrulous
Syllables: gar - ru - lous
Tricky part: The r is doubled but the l is single, and the ending is -ous. Students often swap which letter is doubled.
Watch out for: garulous, garrulus, garrolous
Memory tip: A parrot that never stops talking is garrulous, and both words have a double r.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our garrulous neighbour can talk for an hour about her rose bushes.
Example 2: The quiz host was so garrulous that the contestants hardly had time to answer.
Example 3: Grandpa becomes garrulous whenever someone asks about his army days.
Fun Fact
Garrulous comes from the Latin garrire, to chatter, a word used for the noisy calls of birds.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of 'garrulous' as it is used in the sentence:
The garrulous taxi driver told us his whole life story on the way to the airport.
a) cheerful
b) taciturn
c) talkative
d) chatty
Show answer
b) taciturn. Chatty and talkative describe the driver; a taciturn person says very little.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. eloquant 2. rediculous 3. sinsere 4. garrulous
a) honest; meaning what you say
b) talking too much about unimportant things
c) silly enough to be laughed at
d) speaking well and persuasively
Show answer
b) talking too much about unimportant things. Read each word to the end: eloquent closes with -ent, ridiculous opens with rid, and sincere has a c where the second s is.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
garrulious
a) o
b) u
c) i
d) l
Show answer
c) i. There is no i in garrulous; the ending is simply -ous.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A garrulous guest at a party is most likely to ____.
a) leave without a word
b) fall asleep
c) keep talking for a long time
d) sit silently in a corner
Show answer
c) keep talking for a long time
2. Which word is closest in meaning to 'loquacious'?
a) generous
b) garrulous
c) gracious
d) glorious
Show answer
b) garrulous
