tonguey
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Tending to talk a lot; fluent or voluble in speech (generally with an unfavourable connotation).
adj
Using many words; containing grandiloquent expressions; marked by rhetorical elegance (generally with an unfavourable connotation).
adj
Manifested by fluent or voluble speech.
adj
Resembling a tongue.
Example Sentences
- "1608, Philip Woodward, Bels Trial Examined, Doai, Preface, Seeing then he is now so mute, that before was so tonguy […]"
- "“You air a tongue-y person, Gen’ral. For you talk too much, and that’s a fact,” said Scadder. “You speak a-larmingly well in public, but you didn’t ought to go ahead so fast in private. Now!”"
- "“[…] He had many friends who loved him truly and they tried to persuade him to escape, but by unanswerable arguments he proved to them how wrong they were.” ¶ “Humph!” grunted Sallie. “Tonguey to de last! An’ in de wrong way to de wrong ones.”"
- "1885, J. H. Battle, Kentucky: A History of the State, Louisville, KY: F.A. Battey, “Biographical Sketches,” p. 839, […] personal abuse and tonguy sarcasm are not elements of success in law practice."
- "“I have listened,” he said, “to the talk that Justice Rowan has given us. It’s very fine and tonguey, but it smothers up the facts. […]”"
- "those points especially warming to tonguey gossip—the neighboring tavern and country-store"
Etymology
From Middle English tungy, tungi, equivalent to tongue + -y. Compare Old English tynġe (“fluent, eloquent, skillful”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: tungy
Usage
- Australian usage
- British usage
Inflected Forms
tonguier (comparative)
more tonguey (comparative)
tonguiest (superlative)
most tonguey (superlative)
tonguy (alternative)
tongueys (plural)