glib

adjective

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\ ˈglib

glibber; glibbest

Definition of glib

1a : showing little forethought or preparation : offhand glib answers

b : marked by ease and informality : nonchalant

c : lacking depth and substance : superficial glib solutions to knotty problems

2 : marked by ease and fluency in speaking or writing often to the point of being insincere or deceitful a glib politician

3 archaic : smooth, slippery

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Examples of glib in a Sentence

Or they could have saddled us with "The Stranger," which had the mitigating charm of being glib and pretentious and would thus have kept the kids who were obviously going to end up at Bard happy. — Joe Queenan, New York Times Book Review, 3 June 2007 The problem was that the candidate anticipated all the questions, knew all the answers and tended to pop out the reply the moment the question was asked; it made him seem like a smart aleck, too glib. — William Safire, New York Times Magazine, 16 June 1991 Some of the glibbest persons in the nation are oddly tongue-tied when the Bible is brought up. — Garry Wills, Under God, 1990 I expected a glib ladies' man, which he's not. He is an introspective man with deep emotions. — Loni Anderson, quoted in People Weekly, 6 Nov. 1989 Politicians need to do more than provide glib answers to difficult questions. the actor's glib portrayal of a drug addict

Recent Examples on the Web Some of their experiments in offbeat, tongue-in-cheek storytelling come off as way too glib, turning subjects like addiction and suicide into cringe-inducing attempts at alt-comedy. — Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2021 And no child can offer more than Josie’s glib goodbye, though perhaps Ishiguro wants to; the book is dedicated to his mother. — Rumaan Alam, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2021 Its production pedigree and glib roasting of materialism through the magic-using preppy Kaz set it apart from the majority of animated and live-action series alike. — Eric Vilas-boas, Vulture, 5 Apr. 2021 The glib answers, obviously, would be a) to make more money and b) to reflect the ever-shifting currents of the sport’s politics. — New York Times, 26 Mar. 2021 Indeed, the two-time Oscar winner’s worst qualities are on display here — chief among them, the off-putting glib attitude meant to convey cheekiness. — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2021 That sounded glib, but several other former frequent flyers said something similar. — Farhad Manjoo New York Times, Star Tribune, 10 Mar. 2021 The parents’ glib smugness, as revealed in the 200-page, soap opera-esque indictment, was glaring. — Nicole Laporte, Time, 3 Mar. 2021 But White House press secretary Jen Psaki was slightly more glib from the briefing podium when she was quizzed on Krein. — Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner, 16 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glib.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.