eloquent

adjective

el·o·quent ˈe-lə-kwənt

Synonyms of eloquent next

: marked by forceful and fluent expression

an eloquent preacher

: vividly or movingly expressive or revealing

an eloquent monument

eloquently adverb

Example Sentences

He [H. L. Mencken] relished the vagaries of vernacular speech and paid eloquent homage to them in The American Language. —

Jackson Lears, New Republic, 27 Jan. 2003

Samuel Johnson is palmed off in classrooms as a harmless drudge of a lexicographer, yet open the Dictionary anywhere and find precision and eloquent plainness. —

Guy Davenport, The Geography of the Imagination, (1954) 1981

There was a burst of applause, and a deep silence which was even more eloquent than the applause. —

Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886

His success serves as an eloquent reminder of the value of hard work. an eloquent writer and speaker, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founders of the women's rights movement

Recent Examples on the Web Elvin Bishop, a gutsy and eloquent guitarist formerly with ‘60s standouts Paul Butterfield Blues Band, was at Miami’s Criteria Studios recording his next solo album. —

Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 2 June 2023 Jefferson read Condorcet’s denunciation of slavery in Reflections on the Slavery of Negroes, a powerfully eloquent screed, two copies of which Jefferson bought in 1788. —

Time, 25 Nov. 2022 Direct, precise and no filler — that’s a good way to describe Ron Carter, the tall, eloquent elder statesman of jazz. —

Demetrius Patterson, Variety, 22 Oct. 2022 Alek Shrader made for a grimly eloquent Iago, Christian Pursell a golden-toned Doge. —

Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022 In her 22 years at Harlem Hospital, a public institution run by New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation and affiliated with Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Heagarty made a name for herself as an eloquent and effective champion for children’s health. —

Sam Roberts, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023 Ahmad Jamal, one of the most elegant, eloquent and influential pianists and composers in modern jazz, died on Sunday, his wife, Laura Hess-Hey, and his daughter, Sumayah Jamal, told the Washington Pst. —

A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023 Representative Jay Obernolte, a Republican from California who in 1990 founded a video-game studio, was more eloquent about technology than some of his colleagues. —

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2023 In her 22 years at Harlem Hospital, a public institution run by New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corp. and affiliated with Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Heagarty made a name for herself as an eloquent and effective champion for children’s health. —

Sam Roberts, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eloquent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin ēloquent-, ēloquens "capable of speech, expressing oneself fluently," from present participle of ēloquī "to utter, put into words," from ē- e- entry 1 + loquī "to talk, speak," probably going back to dialectal Indo-European *tlok^w- "talk," whence also Old Irish ad-tluichethar "(s/he) gives thanks" (originally with buide "thanks" as object, as in atluchedar buidi do Día "he thanks God"), do-tluichethar "(s/he) desires, beseeches, asks," Old Church Slavic tlŭk "interpreter" (from *tl̥k^w-o-)