well-spoken

[wel-spoh-kuh n]

See more synonyms for well-spoken on Thesaurus.com

adjective

speaking well, fittingly, or pleasingly: The new chairwoman was very well-spoken.
polite in speech: a well-spoken gentleman.
spoken in an apt, fitting, or pleasing manner: a few well-spoken words on civic pride.

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Origin of well-spoken

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

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

Related Words

fluent expressive coherent eloquent well-spoken respectful civilized civil soft-spoken polite well-behaved thoughtful courtly well-mannered affable attentive considerate gracious clear comprehensible

Examples from the Web for well-spoken

Contemporary Examples

But there are increasingly more who are well-spoken, educated, and just a little naughty.
Porn Stars Are People Too, Dammit: Lisa Ann’s Notre Dame Date and the Trolling of David Gregory
Aurora Snow
October 25, 2014
A Yale-educated lawyer, Rhodes is well-spoken and as passionate about his cause as he is calm.
Oath Keepers: Bring On the Collapse!
Caitlin Dickson
October 15, 2013
Pence is well-spoken, thanks to a radio show background and to his solid, principled beliefs which make it easy for him to speak.
Sarah Palin's Newest Rival
Mark McKinnon
October 27, 2010
It was packed with neatly combed, mostly blond, well-spoken Hope College students.
Milk Screenwriter Battles a Gay-Bashing College
Dustin Lance Black
December 20, 2009

Historical Examples

He was young, well-spoken, witty, and skilled in all martial and manly exercises.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
I suppose my words were not particularly gracious or well-spoken.
The Blue Germ
Martin Swayne
That letter was a kind-hearted, honest, well-spoken citizen.
Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Vol. I (of 2)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The convict was always a well-spoken man, and plainly a man of education.
Motor Matt's Daring Rescue
Stanley R. Matthews
He is brave as a knight; well-spoken as a clerk; and yet is he neither clerk nor knight.
The Iron Pincers
Eugne Sue

British Dictionary definitions for well-spoken

well-spoken

adjective (well spoken when postpositive)

having a clear, articulate, and socially acceptable accent and way of speaking
spoken satisfactorily or pleasingly

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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