Meaning & use
verbal diarrhea
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Meanings
noununcountableinformaldisapproving
The habit or act of talking too much in a way that is boring, confused, or without control.
Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'a lot of verbal diarrhea', not 'a verbal diarrhea'.
Patterns
- a bout of verbal diarrhea
- suffer from verbal diarrhea
His speech was pure verbal diarrhea—he talked for an hour without saying anything.
I get verbal diarrhea when I'm nervous and can't stop talking.
Her verbal diarrhea at the meeting made everyone uncomfortable.
noununcountableinformaldisapproving
Writing or speech that contains too many words and no clear meaning.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used to criticize a text or presentation.
Patterns
- be full of verbal diarrhea
- produce verbal diarrhea
The report was full of verbal diarrhea and lacked real data.
I couldn't finish the article—it was just verbal diarrhea.
Common combinations
- a case of verbal diarrhea
- The interview was a case of verbal diarrhea from start to finish.
- suffer from verbal diarrhea
- He suffers from verbal diarrhea whenever he's asked a simple question.
- pure verbal diarrhea
- Her excuse was pure verbal diarrhea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gibberish
- Gibberish means speech that is impossible to understand, while verbal diarrhea is more about talking too much without control.
- rambling
- Rambling is talking in a confused way without a clear structure; verbal diarrhea is stronger and more critical.
- logorrhea
- Logorrhea is a formal or medical term for excessive talking; verbal diarrhea is informal and disapproving.
Opposites
Commonly confused: verbal diarrhea or diarrhea?
verbal diarrhea vs diarrhea
Diarrhea is a medical condition affecting the stomach; verbal diarrhea is a figurative, informal expression about talking too much.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'verbal diarrhea' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Verbal diarrhea means talking too much in a boring or confused way, so it fits with 'excuses'. The other options confuse it with the medical condition diarrhea or use it as a countable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “verbal diarrhea”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.