Word for a person who talks without content

Question

What is a word for a person who reiterates without adding any new content? (This person is not necessarily talkative per se.) Example of a conversation by such a person would be:

"You know if we do this xyz, it will be good. No one has done xyz so it is going to be great if we finish xyz, I don't think anyone has done this. By summer if this is done then we can send xyz, of course we have to do it before and it's gonna be great and we have to keep doing xyz unless someone will do it, but no one has done it yet, it is going to be great if we do xyz."

It is not overzeal; it is just my example which came out to be like this.

related: Speaking for the sake of saying something; and Is there a word for a person who gives out too many extraneous details? — Mari-Lou A, May 01 '15 at 08:17
+1 for "rain man". -10 for "women"... that's just offensive. Especially since it's known that men talk more than women, and interrupt more than women. , now let's get back to word definitions. — alexis, May 01 '15 at 08:19
also related: What is the name of the tactic that politicians use to bury people with torrent of words? and my favourite but used in its BrEng sense “waffle” — "the meaning of ‘waffle’ most familiar to me is to talk or write at great length without actually saying very much" — Mari-Lou A, May 01 '15 at 08:22
Opposite of straight talk is so big that it will surely encompass this. But this is more specialized. But probably I am searching in vain, so I will accept that after waiting for a few days for other views. — mukhujje, May 01 '15 at 09:24
The phrasing of your question suggests you're looking for an adjective, but if your purpose is search, verbs would do just as well: babbling, digressing, reiterating, are terms that (while they do not necessarily describe the behavior you are after), are likely to come up. I'm sure others can come up with much more apt terms, if you only make it clear that verbs are relevant. — alexis, May 01 '15 at 12:23
You're not describing an aphasic, are you? Someone with a problem like this? — Matt Gutting, May 01 '15 at 14:26
@mukhujje Welcome to the ELU :-). It helps to be as precise as possible in the original question. To get the answer you desire, it would be best if you edited your post to include the remark that you are looking for a medical term. You can point out that it is an edit, so that the already provided answers don't seem nonsensical, since many people tried very hard to give you an answer. — Lucky, May 01 '15 at 15:06

score 14 · Answer 1 · answered May 01 '15 at 09:00

14

Gasbag (slang) - A person whose talks are devoid of content, i.e., gaseous.

TFD - One given to empty or boastful talk.

answered May 01 '15 at 09:00

kumarharsh

311

2

Gasbag is so far the best match, but as I am looking for the medical condition through a google search with the word I don't think this one will be of much help. – mukhujje May 01 '15 at 09:15
Why does that remind me of Super Mario and the P-balloons? – eMPee584 May 01 '15 at 15:09
1

@mukhujje Talking a lot without saying anything is not a medical condition. A very similar term, which was the first thought that came into my mind upon reading the question title, is *windbag*, which strikes me as slightly less offensive than gasbag. – Janus Bahs Jacquet May 01 '15 at 16:32

Dog Lover · Answer 2 · 2015-05-18T09:30:04.170

10

Not sure if it's what you're after, but you could try "rambler".

ramble

to talk or write in an aimless way.

(of speech, writing) to lack organisation.

edited May 18 '15 at 09:30

answered May 01 '15 at 05:48

Dog Lover

6,445

2

Not to be confused with a rambler :-) – Joe May 01 '15 at 13:31
@user77639 Which is lacking organisation (hence, the second meaning). – Dog Lover May 03 '15 at 00:53

score 7 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

7

I would offer blatherskate or blatherskite :

A voluble purveyor of nonsense; a blusterer.

Nonsense or blather; empty talk.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered May 01 '15 at 09:46

Sobrique

293

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered May 01 '15 at 14:06

7

As far as a diagnostic search term, logorrhea may be most appropriate. From Wikipedia:

a communication disorder, expressed by excessive wordiness with minor or sometimes incoherent talkativeness.

A related search term could be aphasia or aphasic, which refers to a general class of language disorders.

As for precise usage, the verb that comes to mind is bloviate. From Merriam-Webster:

to speak or write verbosely and windily

answered May 01 '15 at 14:06

Excellll

659

@mukhujje commented that they wanted a medical condition. This fits. – Roister Jun 10 '23 at 20:34

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered May 01 '15 at 11:27

5

Blatherer

blather at Merriam Webster:

to talk foolishly at length —often used with on : Old Norse blathra; akin to Middle High German blōdern to chatter First Known Use: 1524

Blatherer at Collins:

someone who blathers

answered May 01 '15 at 11:27

Wayfaring Stranger

8,181

score 4 · Answer 6 · edited Jun 10 '23 at 20:39

4

Bloviator, from

bloviate: talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.

source

edited Jun 10 '23 at 20:39

Roister

352

answered May 01 '15 at 14:35

allignatius

51

1

Welcome to the ELU :-). Can you please provide a reference for the definition as suggested on the help centre page? This way the answer would be even more helpful to the OP and future users of the website. You can always edit your own posts, regardless of your reputation. – Lucky May 01 '15 at 14:45

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered May 01 '15 at 15:00

4

I suppose such a person might be called a pleonast.

From Wiktionary

Pleonast: One who is addicted to pleonasm, or redundancy in speech or writing.

answered May 01 '15 at 15:00

David Boyle

49

alexis · Answer 8 · 2015-05-01T08:35:06.000

2

If you want something colorful, for someone who does talk a lot, go with chatterbox. For someone who just uses a lot of words to say what they're saying, how about long-winded.

edited May 01 '15 at 08:35

answered May 01 '15 at 08:11

alexis

121

Thanks alexis, I understand that you (the users of this stackexchange ) are probably writers so you are trying to find the best fit in a writer sort of way, but I need to describe this to google search who will search through a pile of psychiatrist sites to give me my answer. So long-winded even though describes best the speech of this person will not be of much help. – mukhujje May 01 '15 at 09:19
1

Yeah, Alexis, the best remedy for having nothing to say is to say it a lot. – David Pugh May 01 '15 at 11:50
3

@mukhujje, if you're looking for a word suited to a particular language style (formal/informal, medical jargon etc.), you should edit your answer and add this information. If you want to know how a psychologist would characterize a patient who talks around an issue, say so. (And why exactly is "long-winded" unsuited for googling?) – alexis May 01 '15 at 12:24

KingBOB · Answer 9 · 2015-05-01T14:07:22.157

2

Redundant: characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas.

edited May 01 '15 at 14:07

answered May 01 '15 at 11:25

KingBOB

121

1

Hi Giorgio, that's a great word, and welcome to ELU! Can you provide a link to where you found that definition? Thanks! – Erich May 01 '15 at 13:30

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered May 01 '15 at 13:30

2

An alternative option would be a duck / duckspeaker (coined by George Orwell in 1984):

Thoughtless or formulaic speech.

answered May 01 '15 at 13:30

Joe

163

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered May 01 '15 at 15:00

2

long-winded

adjective

talking or writing at tedious length: "long-winded after-dinner speakers."

continued to a tedious length in speech or writing: "another of his long-winded election speeches."

answered May 01 '15 at 15:00

amdn

2,229

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered May 01 '15 at 06:51

1

Rambler is good for someone who goes on and on, but at a normal pace and without indications of anxiety.

I get the feeling that the speaker in the example is nervous—that they're going on and on because they don't think they've been clear, or that their audience needs more convincing, or that they just can't relax (too much coffee?). I'd call such a person a compulsive talker, or, in a less-kind way, a babbler.

answered May 01 '15 at 06:51

Andy Fielding

534

Could be compulsive talker, I looked at the wiki page it sounds similar. And I got another word from the same page "talkaholic" :) But definitely not too much coffee. – mukhujje May 01 '15 at 09:13

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Aug 21 '20 at 15:11

1

Perseverator, or one who perseverates, which means to repeat something insistently or redundantly. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/perseverate?s=ts

answered Aug 21 '20 at 15:11

Kate

11

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered May 01 '15 at 14:22

0

Colourful and not for polite use, a favourite of mine is 'Gobshite'.

Collins definition

answered May 01 '15 at 14:22

Eight-Bit Guru

137

A gobshite is just an idiot. It’s nothing to do with the person’s level of longwindedness. – Janus Bahs Jacquet May 01 '15 at 16:34

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Sep 08 '21 at 03:57

0

A Whiffler

A whiffler is someone who 'whiffles on' - talks without saying very much.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiffler

answered Sep 08 '21 at 03:57

Jelila

5,621

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Mar 16 '22 at 07:11

0

Chatterbox : one who engages in much idle talk.

Besides 'Rambler' and 'Blatherer' this also comes to my mind!

Merriam Webster - Chatterbox

answered Mar 16 '22 at 07:11

Sumanta

102

Word for a person who talks without content

16 Answers16

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