silver-tongued

sil·ver-tongued
UK/ˌsɪlvəˈtʌŋd/US/ˌsɪlvəɹˈtʌŋd/

adjective

Articulate and charming in speech; eloquent; persuasive or convincing; having a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking.

“silver-tongued orator, silver-tongued charmer, silver-tongued devil”

Meanings

adjectivesilver-tongued (comparative more silver-tongued, superlative most silver-tongued)

comparative more silver-tongued · superlative most silver-tongued

  1. idiomaticinformalArticulate and charming in speech; eloquent; persuasive or convincing; having a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking.

    silver-tongued orator, silver-tongued charmer, silver-tongued devil

    4 more examples

    Siluer tongu'd Smith whoſe well tun'd ſtile hath made thy death the generall teares of the Muſes, queintlie couldſt thou deuiſe heauenly Ditties to Apollos Lute, and teach ſtately verſe to trip it as ſmoothly, as if Ouid and thou had but one ſoule.

    1592, Thomas Nash[e], Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […], London: […] [John Charlewood for] Richard Ihones, […], →OCLC, signature D3, verso

    Mr. [Thomas] Parker ſoon became a pleader at the bar; travelled the Midland circuit; acquired additional eſteem, buſineſs, and property; vvas denominated the Silver-tongued Counſel; and found intereſt enough, in 1705, to cauſe himſelf to be returned a member for the borough, vvith Lord James Cavendiſh, ſon to the firſt Duke of Devonſhire.

    1791, W[illiam] Hutton, “Eminent Men”, in The History of Derby; from the Remote Ages of Antiquity, to the Year MDCCXCI. […], London: […] J[ohn] Nichols, and sold by G[eorge] G. J. & J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, pages 284–285

    [T]he statesman, whose inward feelings had at first so much impeded his efforts to make himself known, had now regained all the ease and fluency of a silver-tongued lawyer of the very highest order.

    1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter I, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume II (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 8

    Philips—Sergeant Gerheim's black, silver-tongued House Mouse—is telling everybody about the one thousand cherries he has busted.

    1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 20

    Synonyms: glib, golden-tongued, honey-mouthed, honey-tongued, sweet-spoken, birdsweet, dulcet, mellifluent

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveArticulate and charming in speech; eloquent; persuasive or convincing; having a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveexpressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From silver (“(noun) lustrous, white, metallic element; (adjective) consisting or made of silver; (figurative) soft and clear in sound; eloquent”) + tongued (“having a particular manner of speaking”), referring to the clear musical tone produced when silver is struck.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch bespraakt, eloquent
  • bespraaktarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • eloquentarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • welbespraaktarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • welsprekendarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Finnish hyvä suustaan, sujuvapuheinen
  • hyvä suustaanarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • sujuvapuheinenarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • sukkelaarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • supliikkiarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • taitavakielinenarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • taitavapuheinenarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • kaunopuheinenhaving a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking
French beau parleur
  • beau parleurarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Hungarian aranyszájú, ékesszóló
  • aranyszájúarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • ékesszólóarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Polish elokwentny, wygadany
  • elokwentnyarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • wygadanyarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • wyszczekanyarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • złotoustyarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Russian красноречи́вый, златоу́стый
  • красноречи́вый (krasnorečívyj)articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • златоу́стый (zlatoústyj)articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Spanish de voz encantador
  • de voz encantadorarticulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Ukrainian красномóвний, красномовний
  • красномóвний (krasnomóvnyj)articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
  • красномовний (krasnomovnyj)articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent
Cite this entry
APA

silver-tongued. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver-tongued

MLA

“silver-tongued.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver-tongued. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “silver-tongued,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver-tongued.

Source: silver-tongued on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.