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 Robson, a man given to bow ties and inscrutable expressions, delivers glib apologies and attempts to stall by inviting questions from the audience. — Mary Sollosi, EW.com, "Read an excerpt from Stephen Rebello's juicy Valley of the Dolls history Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!," 5 June 2020 That was the year, as glib TV commentators explain, that Richard Nixon defeated Vice President Hubert Humphrey in a campaign built around law and order. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "The Flawed Politics of a Law-and-Order Campaign," 31 May 2020 In true Waititi fashion, his commentary was less of a typical breakdown of the film and more of an impromptu Q&A punctuated by glib responses, non-sequiturs and accents. — Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, "Taika Waititi Offers 'Thor: Love and Thunder' Update With Help from His Friends," 9 Apr. 2020 During the campaign, the social media operation of Fine Gael was widely seen as glib and ineffective, and Mr. Varadkar was criticized as detached and distant by some within his own party. — New York Times, "Sinn Fein Surges in Irish Elections, Exit Polls Predict," 8 Feb. 2020 Everything—lost children, homelessness, divorce, social injustice—is just a joke, bedazzled and glib and gorgeous. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," 7 Dec. 2019 As a Padres employee since the 1990s, the sharp, glib Leitner probably pulls a few punches about the local club and the MLB game. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Ted Leitner, a Padres constant, to mark 40th season with ceremonial pitch," 25 Sep. 2019 Given the large role that grass-roots organizing plays in the caucuses, however, that may be overly glib. — Trip Gabriel, New York Times, "Pete Buttigieg Once Led in Iowa. Can He Get His Groove Back?," 22 Jan. 2020 Yet Reno is rather glib about the achievements of the post-war consensus and the dangers of upsetting it. — Samuel Goldman, National Review, "The Populist Wager," 9 Jan. 2020

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.