Library / English Dictionary

TALK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of giving a talk to an audience

Example:

I attended an interesting talk on local history

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("talk" is a kind of...):

lecture; lecturing (teaching by giving a discourse on some subject (typically to a class))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "talk"):

chalk talk (a talk that uses a blackboard and chalk)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An exchange of ideas via conversation

Example:

let's have more work and less talk around here

Synonyms:

talk; talking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("talk" is a kind of...):

conversation (the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "talk"):

cant; pious platitude (insincere talk about religion or morals)

dialog; dialogue; duologue (a conversation between two persons)

heart-to-heart (an intimate talk in private)

shmooze ((Yiddish) a warm heart-to-heart talk)

shop talk (talk about your business that only others in the same business can understand)

idle words; jazz; malarkey; malarky; nothingness; wind (empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk)

cackle; chatter; yack; yak; yakety-yak (noisy talk)

Derivation:

talk (express in speech)

talk (reveal information)

talk (exchange thoughts; talk with)

talk (use language)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Discussion; ('talk about' is a less formal alternative for 'discussion of')

Example:

his poetry contains much talk about love and anger

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("talk" is a kind of...):

discourse; discussion; treatment (an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic)

Derivation:

talk (express in speech)

talk (exchange thoughts; talk with)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Idle gossip or rumor

Example:

there has been talk about you lately

Synonyms:

talk; talk of the town

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("talk" is a kind of...):

comment; gossip; scuttlebutt (a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people)

Derivation:

talk (divulge confidential information or secrets)

talky (full of trivial conversation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A speech that is open to the public

Example:

he attended a lecture on telecommunications

Synonyms:

lecture; public lecture; talk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("talk" is a kind of...):

address; speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)

Derivation:

talk (deliver a lecture or talk)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Deliver a lecture or talk

Example:

Did you ever lecture at Harvard?

Synonyms:

lecture; talk

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

instruct; learn; teach (impart skills or knowledge to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "talk"):

preach; prophesy (deliver a sermon)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Something ----s to somebody
Somebody ----s on something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue talk

Derivation:

talk (a speech that is open to the public)

talker (someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Divulge confidential information or secrets

Example:

Be careful--his secretary talks

Synonyms:

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)

Verb group:

spill; talk (reveal information)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Antonym:

keep quiet (refrain from divulging sensitive information; keep quiet about confidential information)

Derivation:

talkative (unwisely talking too much)

talk (idle gossip or rumor)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Express in speech

Example:

This depressed patient does not verbalize

Synonyms:

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Verb group:

verbalise; verbalize (be verbose)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "talk"):

maunder; mumble; mussitate; mutter (talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice)

murmur (speak softly or indistinctly)

snivel; whine (talk in a tearful manner)

open up (talk freely and without inhibition)

jaw; rattle on; yack; yack away; yap away (talk incessantly and tiresomely)

chatter (make noise as if chattering away)

blab; blabber; chatter; clack; gabble; gibber; maunder; palaver; piffle; prate; prattle; tattle; tittle-tattle; twaddle (speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly)

generalise; generalize (speak or write in generalities)

deliver; present (deliver (a speech, oration, or idea))

inflect; modulate; tone (vary the pitch of one's speech)

slur (utter indistinctly)

bark (speak in an unfriendly tone)

bay (utter in deep prolonged tones)

jabber; mouth off; rabbit on; rant; rave; spout (talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner)

hiss; sibilate; siss; sizz (express or utter with a hiss)

cackle (talk or utter in a cackling manner)

babble (utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way)

chant; intone; tone (utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically)

gulp (utter or make a noise, as when swallowing too quickly)

sing (produce tones with the voice)

read (look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed)

phonate; vocalise; vocalize (utter speech sounds)

troll (speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice)

begin (begin to speak or say)

lip off; shoot one's mouth off (speak spontaneously and without restraint)

shout (utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking))

whisper (speak softly; in a low voice)

peep (speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice)

speak up (speak louder; raise one's voice)

snap; snarl (utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone)

blunder; blunder out; blurt; blurt out; ejaculate (utter impulsively)

rasp (utter in a grating voice)

bumble; falter; stammer; stutter (speak haltingly)

drone; drone on (talk in a monotonous voice)

blubber; blubber out (utter while crying)

talk about; talk of (discuss or mention)

whiff (utter with a puff of air)

verbalise; verbalize (be verbose)

swallow (utter indistinctly)

speak in tongues (speak unintelligibly in or as if in religious ecstasy)

enthuse (utter with enthusiasm)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

talk (an exchange of ideas via conversation)

talk (discussion; ('talk about' is a less formal alternative for 'discussion of'))

talker (someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Reveal information

Example:

The former employee spilled all the details

Synonyms:

spill; talk

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

tell (let something be known)

Verb group:

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle (divulge confidential information or secrets)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

talk (an exchange of ideas via conversation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Exchange thoughts; talk with

Example:

Actions talk louder than words

Synonyms:

speak; talk

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "talk"):

rap (talk volubly)

dish the dirt; gossip (wag one's tongue; speak about others and reveal secrets or intimacies)

butterfly; chat up; coquet; coquette; dally; flirt; mash; philander; romance (talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions)

converse; discourse (carry on a conversation)

monologuise; monologuize; soliloquise; soliloquize (talk to oneself)

talk turkey (discuss frankly, often in a business context)

level (talk frankly with; lay it on the line)

cheek (speak impudently to)

dogmatise; dogmatize (speak dogmatically)

spiel (speak at great length (about something))

talk down (speak in a condescending manner, as if to a child)

orate (talk pompously)

pontificate (talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner)

discourse; dissertate; hold forth (talk at length and formally about a topic)

carry on; continue; go on; proceed (continue talking)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to somebody

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue talk

Derivation:

talk (an exchange of ideas via conversation)

talk (discussion; ('talk about' is a less formal alternative for 'discussion of'))

talkative (friendly and open and willing to talk)

talking (an exchange of ideas via conversation)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Use language

Example:

they speak a strange dialect

Synonyms:

speak; talk

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "talk" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "talk"):

run on (talk or narrate at length)

smatter (speak with spotty or superficial knowledge)

slang (use slang or vulgar language)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue talk

Derivation:

talk (an exchange of ideas via conversation)

talker (someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous))

Credits

 Context examples: 

But he would never cease talking of it—your kindness, sir, and the way in which you brought light into the darkness.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Rushworth talked of the west front.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Children with autism might have problems talking with you, or they might not look you in the eye when you talk to them.

(Autism, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Treatment usually includes talk therapy and sometimes medicine.

(Personality Disorders, NIH)

We'll talk a bit more about this later, let's watch the report.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

If there were any one to talk to I could bear it, but there is no one.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

But the god made no hostile movement, and went on calmly talking.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Cardiac hypertrophy results from cross-talk between G-protein coupled receptor signaling and the EGF receptor pathway.

(Cardiac Hypertrophy Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

I'll talk all day if you'll only set me going.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)