on speaking terms
Idioms-
Friendly enough to exchange superficial remarks, as in We're on speaking terms with the new neighbors .
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Ready and willing to communicate, not alienated or estranged. For example, We are on speaking terms again after the quarrel . Both senses of this idiom commonly occur in the negative, as in Brett and his brother haven't been on speaking terms for years . The idiom was first recorded in 1786.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The report, citing unidentified sources, said the two had not been on speaking terms for "several weeks", with the Clippers believing Paul had become "disruptive."
From Barron's • Dec. 3, 2025
Relations will most likely return to what they were between Argentina's current Peronist President Alberto Fernandez and Brazil's Bolsonaro, who were not on speaking terms, he said.
From Reuters • Nov. 20, 2023
During a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, Pinkett Smith said her friendship with Shakur had been strained and the pair weren’t on speaking terms at the time of his death.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2023
They weren’t on speaking terms at the time.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 2023
Already his two colonels were barely on speaking terms.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
