Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word: GARRULOUS

Correct — A. Garrulous means excessively talkative, especially about trivial things. It comes from the Latin garrire, to chatter.

Talkative keeps the core sense, someone who talks a lot, without the note of excess, and it is the one option pointing that way.

Reserved and silent run the opposite way, and listen is a verb, not an adjective → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Reserved — Reserved means slow to reveal your thoughts and inclined to say little. That puts it close to an antonym of garrulous, not a synonym.
• (c)
  Silent — Silent means not speaking at all, the far end of the scale from someone who cannot stop talking. It suits an antonym question, not this one.
• (d)
  Listen — Listen is a verb, so it cannot replace the adjective garrulous in any sentence. Listening is also the opposite activity to talking.

Garrulous belongs to a cluster of words for people who talk a lot: loquacious, voluble, chatty, gabby. Garrulous usually adds disapproval: too much talk, about too little.

The opposite cluster describes people who say little: taciturn, reticent, reserved.

A quick check on any synonym item: the answer must fit the prompt word's slot in a sentence. A garrulous neighbour is a talkative neighbour; a 'listen neighbour' is not English.

Key facts

• Garrulous means excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters.
• It comes from the Latin garrire, to chatter.
• Loquacious, voluble and chatty are close synonyms.
• Taciturn, reticent and reserved describe the opposite: people who say little.

Common traps

• Answering as if the instruction said antonym. English Q.2 and Q.3 of this shift ask for opposites, but Q.1 asks for a synonym.
• Treating garrulous as praise. It usually criticises someone for talking too much.

No directly related past PYQ was found.