Meaning & use
talked about
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Often discussed by people, usually because it is new, surprising or controversial.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun with a hyphen: a talked-about film. After the noun it is often in much talked about.
Patterns
- a much talked-about something
- the most talked-about something
The talked-about new restaurant had a month-long waiting list.
It was the most talked-about match of the season.
A much talked-about proposal finally reached the council.
phrasephrasal verb
Past tense and past participle of talk about, meaning to have discussed a subject.
Grammar: A past form of talk about: we talked about it for an hour.
Patterns
- talked about something
- talked about doing something
We talked about moving abroad all through dinner.
They have talked about the plan with their manager.
Common combinations
- much talked-about
- The much talked-about merger was finally announced.
- most talked-about
- She is the most talked-about designer in town.
- a talked-about scandal
- The talked-about scandal kept the newspapers busy.
- widely talked about
- The ending was widely talked about online.
- talked about for years
- The show was talked about for years afterward.
Synonyms and how they differ
- much-discussed
- Much-discussed is a little more formal and suggests serious debate rather than casual chatter.
- notorious
- Notorious means famous for something bad, but talked about can be positive, negative or neutral.
- buzzworthy
- Buzzworthy is informal and means likely to create excitement, often in online culture.
- celebrated
- Celebrated means widely praised, while talked-about says only that people discuss it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: talked about or talked-of?
talked about vs talked-of
Talked-of is an older form with the same meaning but sounds more literary. Talked-about is the normal modern choice.
Practice
The ___ new film has divided critics and filled social media for weeks.
Choose one answer.
Talked-about works as an adjective before the noun film. Talkative describes a person who talks a lot, and the other forms are not grammatical here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “talked about”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.