Describing a person who talks a lot — by nature, not just today. It points at a habit or a personality, which is why we say "he's a talkative child" rather than "he was talkative at 3pm". The feeling of the word is mild and mostly neutral, sometimes even warm: a talkative shop owner makes the shop friendly. But it leans slightly toward "more than I wanted", so a teacher writing "talkative in class" on a report card is complaining. Two useful patterns. It often appears with a comparison to the person's normal self — "you're very talkative this evening" means more than usual, and can hint that something has loosened the tongue, such as good news or a drink. And it works for animals and even machines in a joking way: a talkative parrot, a talkative GPS. The opposite words are quiet, shy, or reserved.