The words you’re learning will help you expand your conversational abilities, and you’ll be able to speak intelligently and concisely on a variety of topics. Many people who aren’t that confident in their ability to hold a conversation tend to talk too much to cover up their nervousness. Other people are just naturally garrulous. The word garrulous means talkative or chatty – often too talkative or chatty, in fact. A garrulous person is one who talks a lot, but doesn’t always have anything of importance to say.

Example 1: Audrey only had a five-minute break to run to the post office to mail her package, but the man in front of her was so garrulous it took her fifteen minutes to get everything signed, and she was late for the meeting.

Example 2: When Brian is nervous around people he doesn’t know, he tends to be very garrulous, but when he’s with his friends, he’s content to sit back and listen to everyone else.

Example 3: The first speaker on the panel was so garrulous that later presentations had to be limited to half an hour each.

Your good score on the GRE will be a harbinger of your future success. Harbinger means a sign of things to come. Some synonyms for harbinger are “portent” and “omen.” A harbinger is not always negative – the things to come can be good as well as bad.

Example 1: Though nearly covered by the two inches of snow that had fallen overnight, the early blossoms of the crocuses were a harbinger of spring.

Example 2: Having the supervisor invite an employee to lunch was usually a harbinger of doom, but Brendan was pleased that instead of being laid off, he was congratulated for the success of his latest project.

Be patient and take the time to study, and don’t get depressed if your progress is slow but steady. In the next post, we’ll discuss the words “impetuous” and “jocund.”