Talkativeness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic of speaking frequently or at length in conversation
2. The tendency to engage in extended or frequent verbal communication
3. A disposition to be verbally expressive and to use many words when communicating

Etymology: "Talkativeness" is a plain compound of two parts: "talkative" and the suffix "-ness." The suffix has a long history of its own. It descends from an ancient Germanic element meaning roughly "state of being," which appears in Old English as "-nes" and in Middle English as "-nesse." Over the centuries it became one of English's most productive ways of turning adjectives into nouns, so that nearly any descriptive adjective can take it. "Talkative" is built the same way, from "talk" plus the adjective-forming ending "-ative." Put together, "talkativeness" names the quality of being a person who talks readily and often. It is a transparent word: once you know the parts, the meaning is already fully there, with no surprising shift or hidden story underneath.

Synonyms: loquaciousness, verbosity, garrulousness, chatty nature, wordiness

Antonyms: taciturnity, reticence, silence, reservedness, quietness