1
a
: capable of flowing : fluid
powered, granular, or fluent materials
b
: capable of moving with ease and grace
the fluent body of a dancer
2
a
: capable of using a language easily and accurately
fluent in Spanish
a fluent writer
b
: effortlessly smooth and flowing
a fluent performance
spoke in fluent English
c
: having or showing mastery of a subject or skill
fluent in math
fluently
adverb
Examples of fluent in a Sentence
a fluent speaker of Chinese
a very fluent speaker who always communicates his points well
Recent Examples on the Web
In 1845, about 4.5 million people spoke Irish, and today there are roughly 72,000 fluent speakers.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2023
The San Diego native, who is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, was only discovered in 2020 after a naked woman Raymond met on Tinder screamed for help from his balcony, prompting a worried neighbor to call the authorities.
—Fu Ting, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023
Born and raised in Haiti — where French is the second spoken language after Haitian Creole — Laurie Joseph said traveling to France would have given her the opportunity to become fluent in French.
—Claretta Bellamy, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2023
Our parents, who came to the United States separately from Guangzhou, China, in the late 1960s and early 1970s by way of Hong Kong, spoke mostly the Chinese dialects Cantonese and Taishanese to us, but also possessed fluent English from their education in colonial Hong Kong.
—Kat Chow, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2023
The number of fluent Iñupiaq speakers has declined in the last decade, but the interest in language revitalization has been growing, according to the results from a survey released this month.
—Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
Polling in Creole, however, allowed the survey to capture the experiences of a population in which fluent English speakers are rare.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2023
Smart Compose is fluent in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.
—Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023
At the time there were eight or 10 fluent speakers remaining.
—Christine Kenneally, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
See More
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2023
The San Diego native, who is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, was only discovered in 2020 after a naked woman Raymond met on Tinder screamed for help from his balcony, prompting a worried neighbor to call the authorities.
—Fu Ting, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023
Born and raised in Haiti — where French is the second spoken language after Haitian Creole — Laurie Joseph said traveling to France would have given her the opportunity to become fluent in French.
—Claretta Bellamy, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2023
Our parents, who came to the United States separately from Guangzhou, China, in the late 1960s and early 1970s by way of Hong Kong, spoke mostly the Chinese dialects Cantonese and Taishanese to us, but also possessed fluent English from their education in colonial Hong Kong.
—Kat Chow, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2023
The number of fluent Iñupiaq speakers has declined in the last decade, but the interest in language revitalization has been growing, according to the results from a survey released this month.
—Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
Polling in Creole, however, allowed the survey to capture the experiences of a population in which fluent English speakers are rare.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2023
Smart Compose is fluent in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.
—Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023
At the time there were eight or 10 fluent speakers remaining.
—Christine Kenneally, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fluent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near fluent
Cite this Entry
“Fluent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluent. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on fluent
Nglish: Translation of fluent for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of fluent for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fluent
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