Gregarious vs garrulous

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Grammarist

Gregarious and garrulous are two words that are sometimes confused. We will examine the differing definitions of the words gregarious and garrulous, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

Gregarious describes a person who is outgoing, who enjoys the company of others, who is sociable. A gregarious person is friendly. The word gregarious is also used scientifically to describe animals that live in herds or plants that grow close together. The word gregarious is derived from the Latin word gregārius which means belonging to a herd or flock.

Garrulous describes someone who talks too much, especially about inconsequential matters. A garrulous person chatters incessantly about things that do not matter. The word garrulous is derived from the Latin word garrulus, which means to prattle or to chatter.

Examples

Socially, Mr Varadkar is not naturally gregarious and sometimes his shyness can be perceived as aloofness. (The Irish Independent)

Pittsburgh’s cobbler to the stars, a gregarious Lawrenceville raconteur who for most of a century built or repaired the work shoes of sports titans including Mario Lemiuex, Jaromir Jagr, L.C. Greenwood, Tony Dorsett and Roberto Clemente, and yet was perhaps more widely known as a fixture referee on Channel 11’s cult monument “Studio Wrestling,” Mr. Palermo died Tuesday, a week after striking his head in a fall. (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Perhaps his greater setbacks have been political at the hands of Republican foes, who over the years have relentlessly mocked and demonized him as garrulous windbag prone to self-inflicted damage. (The St. Augustine Record)

Finch is an amiable, if somewhat garrulous, companion as he takes readers on a journey from the island of Monomoy in the south to the wild dune country of the Provincelands in the north. (The New York Times)