raconteur

American  

[rak-uhn-tur, ra-kawn-tœr] / ˌræk ənˈtɜr, ra kɔ̃ˈtœr /

noun

plural

raconteurs

1. a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.

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raconteur British  

/ ˌrækɒnˈtɜː /

noun

1. a person skilled in telling stories

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Etymology

Origin of raconteur

1820–30; < French, equivalent to racont ( er ) to tell ( Old French r ( e ) - re- + aconter to tell, account ) + -eur -eur

Example Sentences

Mr. Man is knowledgeable and well-traveled, but as a historian he is more of a raconteur than a scholar.

From The Wall Street Journal

All seem to use the word differently than in its usual application to novelists, playwrights and raconteurs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Like the raconteur at the table, Mr. Winchester is masterly but almost too fluent.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Capote, a lively raconteur in life and on the page, takes his time in setting the scene.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is something he observed in his wife’s grandfather, a lifelong reader and raconteur who retained his gentle voice and erudite air long after the stories in him were lost to Alzheimer’s disease.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• storyteller