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In a chapter titled “Conversation,” from her 1922 book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, Emily Post offers her trademark good advice for the loquacious among us: “There is a simple rule, by which if one is a voluble chatterer ... one can at least refrain from being a pest or a bore. And the rule is merely, to stop and think.” Voluble, as is clear in this context, describes someone or something (as in “voluble personality/prose/presence”) characterized by ready or rapid speech. Voluble traces back to the Latin verb volvere, meaning “to set in a circular course” or “to cause to roll.” Another volvere descendant, volume, can also be a help in remembering voluble’s meaning, not because someone described as voluble speaks at a loud volume, per se, but because they have volumes to say.
Examples of voluble in a Sentence
John Whitehead, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026
Hostility to such politics has been voluble and loud.
—Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
The usually voluble Booker wasn’t eager to dissect his 2020 race.
—Russell Berman, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2026
Unlike the voluble Freedman, CAA was silent Thursday when Deadline reached out for comment on the looming mass action.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for voluble
Cite this Entry
“Voluble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voluble. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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