eloquent

B2
US /ˈɛləkwənt/ UK /ˈɛl.əˌkwənt/
adj Freq #21708

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    Fluently persuasive and articulate.

    an eloquent writer

  2. 2
    adj

    Effective in expressing meaning by speech.

    an eloquent article

  3. 3
    adj

    Relating to areas in the brain that serve an identifiable neurological function, in which injury leads to focal deficits or disability.

    Lydiard was diagnosed shortly after new year following speech disturbance and subtle memory issues. He has a high-grade glioma, an aggressive malignant primary brain tumour in the left side. It is in the “eloquent brain”, very close to the part that controls speech, and would have been considered untreatable in the past.

  4. 4
    adj

    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively

Etymology

From Old French eloquent, from Latin eloquens (“speaking, having the faculty of speech, eloquent”), present participle of eloquor (“to speak out”), from e (“out”) + loquor (“to speak”).

View etymology graph →

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · fluently persuasive and... articulatewell-spoken
4 adj · expressing yourself... facilefluentsilversilver-tonguedsmooth-spoken
Word family
Derived forms eloquateeloquentlyeloquentnessineloquentsialoquentsplendiloquentsupereloquentuneloquent
Related forms colloquialcolloquiumcolloquyelocutioneloquencegrandiloquentillocutioninterlocutioninterlocutorlocutionloquaciousmagniloquent

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.