Home Synonyms talk

Synonyms of talk in English:

talk


See US English definition of talk

See UK English definition of talk

See Spanish definition of hablar

verb

1‘I was talking to a friend who lives in the next town’

SYNONYMS
speak, give voice, chat
chatter, gossip, prattle, prate, babble, rattle on, blather, blether, orate
informal yak, gab, jaw, go on, chew the fat
British informal natter, rabbit, witter, chunter
North American informal rap, run off at the mouth
Australian, New Zealand informal mag

2‘you're talking rubbish’

SYNONYMS
utter, speak, say, voice, express, articulate, pronounce, enunciate, verbalize, vocalize

3‘the music was quieter in here, and they were able to talk’

SYNONYMS
converse, communicate, speak to each other, discuss things, have a talk, have a chat, have a tête-à-tête, confer, consult each other
negotiate, have negotiations, parley, palaver
informal have a confab, chew the fat, chew the rag, jaw, rap
formal confabulate

4‘for all the love that he felt for her, and she him, they had never talked of marriage’

SYNONYMS
mention, make mention of, refer to, make reference to, speak about, discuss

5‘I was able to talk English’

SYNONYMS
speak, speak in, talk in, communicate in, converse in, express oneself in, discourse in, use

6‘nothing would make her talk’

SYNONYMS
confess, speak out, speak up, reveal all, inform, tell tales, tell, divulge information, tell the facts, give the game away, open one's mouth
informal come clean, blab, squeal, let the cat out of the bag, spill the beans, spill one's guts, sing, rat
British informal grass

7‘we mustn't keep meeting like this—people will talk’

SYNONYMS
gossip, spread rumours, pass comment, make remarks, criticize

noun

1‘he was bored with all this talk’

SYNONYMS
chatter, chatting, chattering, gossiping, prattling, prating, gibbering, jabbering, babbling, gabbling, rattling on, speaking, talking
informal yakking, gabbing
British informal nattering, rabbiting, wittering

2‘Polly felt in need of a talk with Vi, the person she turned to in an emergency’

SYNONYMS
conversation, chat, discussion, tête-à-tête, heart-to-heart, dialogue, colloquy, parley, consultation, conference, meeting
informal confab, jaw, chit-chat, rap, powwow, gossip
Australian informal convo
formal confabulation

3talks‘he held peace talks with his United Kingdom counterpart’

SYNONYMS
negotiations, discussions
conference, summit, meeting, consultation, dialogue, symposium, seminar, conclave, colloquy, palaver, parley
bargaining, haggling, wheeling and dealing
mediation, arbitration, intercession, conciliation
informal powwow
formal confabulation

4‘a firefighter giving a talk on her personal experiences’

SYNONYMS
lecture, speech, address, discourse, oration, presentation, report, sermon, disquisition, dissertation, symposium
informal spiel

5‘there was talk of a takeover’

SYNONYMS
gossip, rumour, hearsay, tittle-tattle, news, report

6‘the talk was of what their grandchildren were up to’

SYNONYMS
chat, conversation, discussion, gossip
subject, theme, topic
information, news

7‘baby talk’

SYNONYMS
speech, language, dialect, jargon, cant, slang, idiom, idiolect, patois, accent
words
informal lingo

Phrases

    talk someone into something

    ‘he talked her into parting with an art collection worth £30,000’


    SYNONYMS
    persuade someone to, convince someone to, argue someone into, cajole someone into, coax someone into, bring someone round to, talk someone round to, inveigle someone into, wheedle someone into, sweet-talk someone into, influence someone to, prevail on someone to
    informal hustle, fast-talk
    talk back

    ‘he was always talking back to Dad’


    SYNONYMS
    answer back, answer defiantly, be impertinent, answer impertinently, be cheeky, be rude, contradict, argue with, disagree with
    talk someone out of something

    ‘I quickly talked him out of staying in Britain’


    SYNONYMS
    dissuade from, persuade against, discourage from, deter from, stop, put off, advise against, urge against, divert from, argue out of
    talk something down

    1‘people constantly talk down the coal industry’


    SYNONYMS
    denigrate, depreciate, deprecate, disparage, belittle, diminish, criticize
    informal knock, pan, put down

    2‘the last Lancaster bomber was talked down to safety after the raid’


    SYNONYMS
    give landing instructions to, bring to land, help to land
    talk big

    ‘Henry was new to the job but he was already talking big’


    SYNONYMS
    brag, boast, crow, bluster, exaggerate
    blow one's own trumpet, shoot one's mouth off, swank, show off
    Australian, New Zealand skite, big-note oneself
    talk something up

    ‘the film is being talked up for the awards season’


    SYNONYMS
    promote, push, boost, hype, merchandise, publicize, advertise, give publicity to, give a puff to, puff, puff up, build up, bang the drum for, beat the drum for
    informal plug
    talk someone round

    ‘he nearly did give up, and it was only mum who talked him round’


    SYNONYMS
    persuade, prevail on, bring round, win over, influence, sway, convert, affect, bias
    manipulate, bend, mould
    talk down to

    ‘students on the course were talked down to as though they were children’


    SYNONYMS
    condescend to, patronize, treat condescendingly, speak condescendingly to, speak haughtily to, look down one's nose at, look down on, put down, be snobbish to