as in mute
unable to speak because you are nervous or shy
She became tongue-tied whenever he was around. He gets tongue-tied in front of crowds.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-tied
Adjective
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Laura, who lost her daughter Cathy months prior, is already looking after a young foster child named Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), a strange, selectively mute boy who has an insatiable appetite and a blood feud with the family cat.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
16 May 2025 -
Roku’s advancements in remote technology over the last 15 years are visually subtle, and include a volume rocker and mute button on the right edge and a pinhole microphone near the top for voice control.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
6 May 2025
Adjective
-
In helicopter video taken by Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina and posted online the people aboard are largely speechless.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
10 Aug. 2023
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Because his work, as is often the case, leaves us almost speechless.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Given the incomprehensible thought of an empty beach on the island of Hawaii (and nationwide), surely the movie's effect on viewers was impactful.—
Skyler Caruso,
People.com,
16 May 2025
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Honestly, whoever designed this mind-numbing, incomprehensible plan should be banished to an island where they will hopefully be devoured by wildlife.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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As Elmer himself, the excellent Andrew Durand becomes a kind of allegory for inarticulate, disgruntled American masculinity.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2024
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Hank’s friends – conspiracy theorist Dale, military barber Bill and cool but inarticulate Boomhauer, along with Peggy’s friends Minh and Nancy, and Bobby’s friend Connie helped the Hills navigate a changing world.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The outfits are wildly incoherent, and the choreography is boring.—
Barry Levitt,
Vulture,
12 May 2025
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As recently as January, the Liberals trailed the Conservatives by almost twenty points in the polls, owing to a wave of severe, if sometimes incoherent, dissatisfaction with Trudeau.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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Plus, each drawer opens and closes smoothly thanks to the silent metal slide construction.—
Bridget Degnan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 May 2025
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There were silent Sunday night dinners at restaurants and essentially no contact with any extended relatives.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Tongue-tied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-tied. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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