mellifluous

[muh-lif-loo-uhs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mellifluous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding: a mellifluous voice; mellifluous tones.

flowing with honey; sweetened with or as if with honey.

Origin of mellifluous

1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin mellifluus, equivalent to Latin melli- (stem of mel) honey + -flu(ere) to flow + -us adj. suffix (see -ous)

Related formsmel·lif·lu·ous·ly, adverbmel·lif·lu·ous·ness, nounun·mel·lif·lu·ous, adjectiveun·mel·lif·lu·ous·ly, adverb

Synonyms for mellifluous

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1. melodious, musical, dulcet, harmonious.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mellifluous

agreeable, dulcet, fluid, honeyed, mellow, pleasing, resonant, soothing, tuneful, euphonic, harmonic, symphonious, mellifluent, songful, tuned

Examples from the Web for mellifluous

Contemporary Examples of mellifluous

In or out of uniform his motion is languid, his voice relaxed and mellifluous, his movements deliberate, confident.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up
Tom Boswell
September 27, 2014
And Costas is, after all, a guy who is famous for his mellifluous commentary on balls and strikes, touchdowns and field goals.
Bob Costas Steps Onto Gun-Control Minefield
Howard Kurtz
December 3, 2012

Historical Examples of mellifluous

“Good morning,” the other replied in a soft and mellifluous voice.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930
Various
"Of course, she cares for her infant," continued Ulita, in a mellifluous voice.
A Family of Noblemen
Mikhal Saltykov
It is indescribable how soft and mellifluous his voice had now become.
Kennedy Square
F. Hopkinson Smith
Only the map of Australia, with its mellifluous Maori names, can match it.
The American Language
Henry L. Mencken
First it was to German strains, soft, equable, and mellifluous.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, Number 414, April, 1850
Various

British Dictionary definitions for mellifluous

mellifluous

mellifluent

adjective

(of sounds or utterances) smooth or honeyed; sweet

Derived Formsmellifluously or mellifluently, adverbmellifluousness or mellifluence, noun

Word Origin for mellifluous

C15: from Late Latin mellifluus flowing with honey, from Latin mel honey + fluere to flow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mellifluous

adj.

early 15c., "sweet, pleasing" (of an odor, a style of speaking or writing, etc.), from Late Latin mellifluus "flowing with (or as if with) honey," from Latin mel (genitive mellis) "honey" (related to Greek meli "honey;" see Melissa) + -fluus "flowing," from fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Related: Melifluously; melifluousness.