voluble
Americanadjective
adjective
-
talking easily, readily, and at length; fluent
-
archaic easily turning or rotating, as on an axis
-
rare (of a plant) twining or twisting
Synonym Usage
See fluent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of voluble
First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin volūbilis “that turns easily, flowing,” equivalent to volū-, base of volvere “to turn” + -bilis -ble; cf. revolve ( def. )
Explanation
Voluble describes someone who talks a lot, like your aunt who can’t stop telling you to cut your hair or a political candidate who makes twenty speeches on the day before the election. Have you ever found it especially hard to interrupt someone who talks a lot when he or she gets on a roll? If so, it won’t surprise you that the adjective voluble traces back to the Latin word volvere, meaning “to roll.” The word voluble describes talking continuously, fluently, at great length, in a steady flow. You’ll know it when you meet voluble talkers: they just keep rolling on and on.
Vocabulary lists containing voluble
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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.
Another telltale sign: people who suddenly become voluble online.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Asked by journalists if he viewed the report as a whitewash, Lange, the voluble New Zealand prime minister, scoffed.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez is invited to appear in the live-action version of “The Incredibles” as her animated doppelganger: voluble, brilliant, bespectacled, fashion-forward Edna Mode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2024
The usually voluble senator smiled, declared that he was there to bring Americans together and walked away.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
He was, as I said, voluble, and having discovered that I had no shifgrethor took every chance to give me advice, though even he disguised it with ifs and as-ifs.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
