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What is a word for a person who reiterates without adding any new content? (This person is not necessarily talkative per se.) Example of a conversation by such a person would be:

"You know if we do this xyz, it will be good. No one has done xyz so it is going to be great if we finish xyz, I don't think anyone has done this. By summer if this is done then we can send xyz, of course we have to do it before and it's gonna be great and we have to keep doing xyz unless someone will do it, but no one has done it yet, it is going to be great if we do xyz."

It is not overzeal; it is just my example which came out to be like this.

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16 Answers 16

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Gasbag (slang) - A person whose talks are devoid of content, i.e., gaseous.

TFD - One given to empty or boastful talk.

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    Gasbag is so far the best match, but as I am looking for the medical condition through a google search with the word I don't think this one will be of much help.
    – mukhujje
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 9:15
  • Why does that remind me of Super Mario and the P-balloons?
    – eMPee584
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 15:09
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    @mukhujje Talking a lot without saying anything is not a medical condition. A very similar term, which was the first thought that came into my mind upon reading the question title, is windbag, which strikes me as slightly less offensive than gasbag.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 16:32
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Not sure if it's what you're after, but you could try "rambler".

ramble

  • to talk or write in an aimless way.
  • (of speech, writing) to lack organisation.
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    Not to be confused with a rambler :-)
    – Joe
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 13:31
  • @user77639 Which is lacking organisation (hence, the second meaning).
    – Dog Lover
    Commented May 3, 2015 at 0:53
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I would offer blatherskate or blatherskite :

A voluble purveyor of nonsense; a blusterer.

Nonsense or blather; empty talk.

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As far as a diagnostic search term, logorrhea may be most appropriate. From Wikipedia:

a communication disorder, expressed by excessive wordiness with minor or sometimes incoherent talkativeness.

A related search term could be aphasia or aphasic, which refers to a general class of language disorders.

As for precise usage, the verb that comes to mind is bloviate. From Merriam-Webster:

to speak or write verbosely and windily

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  • @mukhujje commented that they wanted a medical condition. This fits.
    – Roister
    Commented Jun 10, 2023 at 20:34
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Blatherer

blather at Merriam Webster:

to talk foolishly at length —often used with on : Old Norse blathra; akin to Middle High German blōdern to chatter First Known Use: 1524

Blatherer at Collins:

someone who blathers

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I suppose such a person might be called a pleonast.

From Wiktionary

Pleonast: One who is addicted to pleonasm, or redundancy in speech or writing.

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Bloviator, from

bloviate: talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.

source

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    Welcome to the ELU :-). Can you please provide a reference for the definition as suggested on the help centre page? This way the answer would be even more helpful to the OP and future users of the website. You can always edit your own posts, regardless of your reputation.
    – Lucky
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 14:45
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If you want something colorful, for someone who does talk a lot, go with chatterbox. For someone who just uses a lot of words to say what they're saying, how about long-winded.

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  • Thanks alexis, I understand that you (the users of this stackexchange ) are probably writers so you are trying to find the best fit in a writer sort of way, but I need to describe this to google search who will search through a pile of psychiatrist sites to give me my answer. So long-winded even though describes best the speech of this person will not be of much help.
    – mukhujje
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 9:19
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    Yeah, Alexis, the best remedy for having nothing to say is to say it a lot.
    – David Pugh
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 11:50
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    @mukhujje, if you're looking for a word suited to a particular language style (formal/informal, medical jargon etc.), you should edit your answer and add this information. If you want to know how a psychologist would characterize a patient who talks around an issue, say so. (And why exactly is "long-winded" unsuited for googling?)
    – alexis
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 12:24
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An alternative option would be a duck / duckspeaker (coined by George Orwell in 1984):

Thoughtless or formulaic speech.

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Redundant: characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas.

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    Hi Giorgio, that's a great word, and welcome to ELU! Can you provide a link to where you found that definition? Thanks!
    – Erich
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 13:30
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long-winded

adjective

  1. talking or writing at tedious length: "long-winded after-dinner speakers."
  2. continued to a tedious length in speech or writing: "another of his long-winded election speeches."
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Rambler is good for someone who goes on and on, but at a normal pace and without indications of anxiety.

I get the feeling that the speaker in the example is nervous—that they're going on and on because they don't think they've been clear, or that their audience needs more convincing, or that they just can't relax (too much coffee?). I'd call such a person a compulsive talker, or, in a less-kind way, a babbler.

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  • Could be compulsive talker, I looked at the wiki page it sounds similar. And I got another word from the same page "talkaholic" :) But definitely not too much coffee.
    – mukhujje
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 9:13
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Perseverator, or one who perseverates, which means to repeat something insistently or redundantly. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/perseverate?s=ts

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Colourful and not for polite use, a favourite of mine is 'Gobshite'.

Collins definition

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  • A gobshite is just an idiot. It’s nothing to do with the person’s level of longwindedness.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 16:34
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A Whiffler

A whiffler is someone who 'whiffles on' - talks without saying very much.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiffler

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Chatterbox : one who engages in much idle talk.

Besides 'Rambler' and 'Blatherer' this also comes to my mind!

Merriam Webster - Chatterbox

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