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If "hunger" is the urge to eat and "thirst" is the urge to drink, is there a word for the urge to speak? (Or, perhaps, the desire to be heard?)

There seem to be a lot of nouns describing people who talk too much and adjectives for "talkative" (positive and negative), but I can't seem to find a word for the motive for speech.

I'm striking out in the thesaurus, can't even seem to find an entry point.

It's OK if the word is technical (for example, if it is psychology jargon). Ideally, it would be neutral in connotation. A single word would be best, but a compound word or phrase would be helpful.

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    In psychological contexts, I see compulsive talking, pressured speech, and compulsive speech. All of these seem to cover "generally talking a lot" as well as, in one specific moment, being compelled to break silence. I'm not aware of a more universal word that describes something common to the human condition like "thirst" or "hunger." Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 18:04
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    Verbal diarrhoea? If you've got to go, you've got to go. Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 19:13
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    @HighPerformanceMark Who says it has to be in the dysfunction spectrum?
    – LPH
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 19:48
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    I would argue that hunger and thirst are not the urge to eat or drink. One can certainly want to eat when they aren’t hungry and they can be hungry while having no urge to eat.
    – Jim
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 23:53

3 Answers 3

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I think you might mean logomania. Logorrhoea would be the result where words just tumble out in an unstoppable flow.

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Speaking is not like eating and drinking, which are necessary for survival, so it is not motivated by the same biological urge. As a psychological characteristic, it might be called discursiveness or loquaciousness.

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disquiet - lack of calm, peace, or ease

There are plenty of synonyms.. perturbed would be a favorite of mine. But, you're talking about an urge to not be quiet.

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