voluble

[ vol-yuh-buhl ]

/ ˈvɒl yə bəl /

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adjective

characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; glib; talkative: a voluble spokesman for the cause.

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Nearby words

Origin of voluble

1565–75; < Latin volūbilis which turns easily, flowing, equivalent to volū-, base of volvere to turn + -bilis -ble

SYNONYMS FOR voluble

articulate, garrulous, loquacious. See fluent.

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ANTONYMS FOR voluble

taciturn.

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Related forms

vol·u·bil·i·ty, vol·u·ble·ness, nounvol·u·bly, adverbnon·vol·u·bil·i·ty, nounnon·vol·u·ble, adjective

non·vol·u·ble·ness, nounnon·vol·u·bly, adverbun·vol·u·ble, adjectiveun·vol·u·ble·ness, nounun·vol·u·bly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for volubility

His volubility increased with his perturbation, and then he drank excessively and sang Dixie.
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital|John Beauchamp Jones
I did not like her volubility, yet I could see no way, short of absolute rudeness, of shaking her off.
Against Odds|Lawrence L. Lynch
"That is admitting something," burst out Fulton, who had sat like a statue, watching the little man's volubility.
The Puddleford Papers,|H. H. Riley
From so stern a code human nature revolts, and the storm of volubility went on in spite of the silence of the Dean of St. Neot's.
Quisant|Anthony Hope

I know better, Sir, replied I, than to value myself upon your volubility of speech.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)|Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for volubility

voluble

/ (ˈvɒljʊbəl) /

adjective

talking easily, readily, and at length; fluent

archaic easily turning or rotating, as on an axis

rare (of a plant) twining or twisting

Derived Formsvolubility or volubleness, nounvolubly, adverb

Word Origin for voluble

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.