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voluble

[vol-yuh-buhl]
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adjective
  1. characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; glib; talkative: a voluble spokesman for the cause.
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Origin of voluble

1565–75; < Latin volūbilis which turns easily, flowing, equivalent to volū-, base of volvere to turn + -bilis -ble
Related formsvol·u·bil·i·ty, vol·u·ble·ness, nounvol·u·bly, adverbnon·vol·u·bil·i·ty, nounnon·vol·u·ble, adjectivenon·vol·u·ble·ness, nounnon·vol·u·bly, adverbun·vol·u·ble, adjectiveun·vol·u·ble·ness, nounun·vol·u·bly, adverb

Synonyms

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articulate, garrulous, loquacious. See fluent.

Antonyms

taciturn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

willingnesskeennesspreparationpreparednessfitnesseloquencevigorpoiseexpressivenesswitpassionfervorfluencydexterityadroitnessfacilitysleightdispatchalacritypromptness

Examples from the Web for volubility

Historical Examples

  • That she knows better than to value herself upon my volubility?

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • His volubility had left him at last, and he sank down wearily on my sofa.

    The Moon and Sixpence

    W. Somerset Maugham

  • Charlie, piqued at her inattentiveness, essayed a volubility foreign to his words.

    Erik Dorn

    Ben Hecht

  • Tessibel's struggling to her feet broke off the man's volubility.

  • Chaffering, quarrelling, joking, there seems to be no end to their volubility.

British Dictionary definitions for volubility

voluble

adjective
  1. talking easily, readily, and at length; fluent
  2. archaic easily turning or rotating, as on an axis
  3. rare (of a plant) twining or twisting
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Derived Formsvolubility or volubleness, nounvolubly, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin volūbilis turning readily, fluent, from volvere to turn
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 volubility

voluble

adj.

1570s, "liable to constant change," from French voluble, from Latin volubilis "that turns around, rolling, flowing, fluent" (of speech), from volvere "to turn around, roll" (see volvox). Meaning "fluent, talkative" first recorded 1580s. Related: Volubly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper