Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🗣️ Persuasive speaking 👅 Having a tongue
tongued

tongued

9 7.7
Having a style of speaking that persuades or offends people
  • adjective
  • /tʌŋd/
translation icon : de lengua
  • Come on, then, you silver-tongued wannabe.
  • sharp-tongued
  • silver-tongued

And it's like no, no, no, speaking harshly, being mean, being sharp tongued, it's not who you are.

Examples

  • You silver tongued devil you.

    Django Unchained (2012)

  • Hanging around silver-tongued creative writing students, I watched what I said and how I said it.

    Academic text (2010)

  • You are a silver tongued devil.

    Whatever It Takes (1998)

  • I didn't want you to think that I was one of those honey- tongued Hollywood types.

    High Hopes (2006)

  • - You're a silver-tongued charmer.

    Belfast (2021)

  • You silver-tongued devil, you.

    Jersey Girl (2004)

  • I’m tired of your silver-tongued lies, Jones!

    Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)

  • Occasionally, silver-tongued lawyers used to swaying juries venture to the court.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Spinoza, you silver-tongued scallywag.

    Mortdecai (2015)

  • He is known for his silver-tongued eloquence during debates.

Surface Forms

tongued positive

Morphology

tongued = tongue (semi-transparent) = tongue + ed

Formed from 'tongue' + '-ed' and used metaphorically for manner of speaking (e.g., 'silver-tongued'), so the morphological formation is clear but the evaluative meaning requires knowledge of the figurative use.

Etymology

Tongued comes from the simple word tongue, the soft part in the mouth we use for speech. In compounds like silver-tongued or sharp-tongued, it means 'having a certain kind of speech', so tongued tells you how someone talks.