Loquacious undeniably has a certain poetic ring. It’s been a favorite of the writerly sort since it made its first appearance in English in the 17th century and, with poetic license, writers stretched its meaning beyond “talkative,” and especially “excessively talkative,” to describe such things as the chattering of birds and the babbling of brooks. The ultimate source of all this chattiness is loquī, a Latin verb meaning “to talk, speak.” Other words descended from loquī include colloquial, eloquent, soliloquy, and ventriloquism.
talkative may imply a readiness to engage in talk or a disposition to enjoy conversation.
a talkative neighbor
loquacious suggests the power of expressing oneself articulately, fluently, or glibly.
a loquacious spokesperson
garrulous implies prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity.
garrulous traveling companions
voluble suggests a free, easy, and unending loquacity.
a voluble raconteur
Examples of loquacious in a Sentence
… long-cultivated dislikes and resentments, combined with a general expectation of coming apocalypse. He talked about these topics in a manner that managed to be tight-lipped and loquacious at the same time.—Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 22 & 29 Dec. 2003… the flaw of the genre is not in betraying the loquacious John Williams and the chatty Father Foucquet, but in failing to schedule an interview with the reticent Eunice Williams and the tongue-tied John Hu.—Jill Lepore, Journal of American History, June 2001With a wonderful memory for detail, this talkative woman—who my father said never forgets anything—became truly loquacious.—Joseph A. Amato, Dust, 2000
a loquacious and glib politician
the loquacious host of a radio talk show
Recent Examples on the WebWhile Sherman and Stone easily bantered, the usually witty and loquacious Kahan stood stone-still, giving wooden readings of his couple of short lines.—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 25 Jan. 2024 There have always been messy kitchens or loquacious colleagues.—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024 Anthony Anderson having his mother scold the loquacious?—The New York Times, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2024 Chatty cockatiel found The RSPCA is on the hunt to find the owner of a loquacious parrot found wandering down a street, reported the BBC.—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 12 Jan. 2024 Yet this flash of reality only highlights how much of Bond—the shark tanks, the loquacious villains, the endlessly up-for-it women—is consoling fantasy.—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Throw in Howell-Baptiste’s very funny loquacious gab, Arterton’s enigmatic iciness, Elgar’s deliciously off-kilter viciousness and a believably raw turn from Abboud and there’s a good core here, one diminished by the strained logic as the series progresses.—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Dec. 2023 Advertisement Forty-two to nothing at halftime, and the loquacious Michaels finally gave up, saying Kirk Herbstreit’s summary was best.—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Dec. 2023 In the clip, cameras shift from the loquacious boys to Driver, who appears to give a steely look when she was shouted out in the speech.—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'loquacious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin loquāc-, loquāx "talkative, verbose" (from loquī "to talk, speak" + -āc-, deverbal suffix denoting habitual or successful performance) + -ious — more at eloquent, audacious
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