Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

eloquent

adjective

  1. having or exercising the power of fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech:
    an eloquent orator.
  2. characterized by forceful and appropriate expression:
    an eloquent speech.
  3. looks eloquent of disgust.

/ ˈɛləkwənt /

adjective

  1. (of speech, writing, etc) characterized by fluency and persuasiveness
  2. visibly or vividly expressive, as of an emotion
    an eloquent yawn

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Derived Forms

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Other Words From

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Word History and Origins

Origin of eloquent1

First recorded in

1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ēloquent-, stem of ēloquēns “speaking out,” present participle of ēloquī “to speak out,” from ē- e- 1

+ loquī “to speak”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of eloquent1

C14: from Latin ēloquēns, from ēloquī to speak out, from loquī to speak

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Synonym Study

Eloquent,

fluent,

articulate,

expressive

are adjectives that characterize speech or speakers notable for their effectiveness.

Eloquent

suggests clarity and power:

an eloquent plea for disarmament.

Fluent,

with a root sense of flowing, refers to easy, smooth, facile speech:

fluent in three languages.

Articulate

characterizes a clear and effective speaker or speech:

an articulate spokesman for tax reform.

Expressive

focuses on rendering intelligible or meaningful the ideas or feelings of a speaker or writer and implies an especially effective, vivid use of language:

a deeply moving, powerfully expressive evocation of a city childhood. fluent.

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Example Sentences

Their task at the start was to “give certain rules to our language, to render it pure and eloquent” – to which end they set about writing their first dictionary.

She is not an eloquent orator - and does not seem to have much of a plan to improve our country.

One video image of a highway at night was more eloquent than anything in the lead-up to Johnny’s Greyhound getaway.

Influencers waxed eloquent about their love for the band and there was no dearth of Coldplay memes.

But the context of the characters’ interaction — a big-box store world of limited economic mobility and unlimited snacks — is eloquent.