smoothspoken

A smoothspoken salesperson explains the product's features to a customer.

Definition

smoothspoken (adjective): Speaking in a very polite, fluent, and persuasive manner, often to the point of being insincere or overly flattering.

Usage Examples

• (He spoke in an overly fluent and persuasive way.)
• (She uses polite, fluent speech to achieve her goals.)

Advanced Usage

• "smoothspoken as oil": A simile meaning extremely flattering and insincere in speech.
  • He was as smoothspoken as oil, but I didn't trust a word he said. (His speech was overly smooth and deceptive.)

Variants and Related Words

• Smooth-tongued : Having a fluent, persuasive, but often deceitful way of speaking. (This is a synonym, not a compound of "smoothspoken" itself.)
• Smooth talker : A person who uses smoothspoken language to manipulate others.
  • Be careful of that smooth talker; he'll promise you anything.

Synonyms

• Silver-tongued: eloquent and persuasive in speech.
• Glib: fluent but often insincere or shallow.
• Suave: charming, confident, and elegant in manner (especially in speech).

Antonyms

• Blunt: speaking in a direct, often rude manner.
• Tongue-tied: unable to speak fluently due to shyness or nervousness.

Related Idioms

• To have a silver tongue: to be very eloquent and persuasive in speech.

  • The politician had a silver tongue, but his promises were empty. (He was smoothspoken but insincere.)

• To butter someone up: to flatter someone excessively, often with smoothspoken words.

  • She buttered up her boss with smoothspoken compliments to get a promotion. (She used flattery to achieve a goal.)