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Glite Dictionary
mellifluous speech

mellifluous speech

7.8
A smooth, sweet way of speaking that sounds pleasant to hear
  • noun
  • /məˈlɪf.lu.əs spiːtʃ/
  • Formal
translation icon : discurso melifluo
  • The teacher's mellifluous speech made the long lecture feel like music to the students' ears.

Examples

  • The lawmakers were so awestruck by his presence and mellifluous speech that they scrambled to touch him and shake hands with him.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Her mellifluous speech enchanted the audience, leaving them in a state of rapture.

  • Everyone was captivated by the singer's mellifluous speech during the concert.

Synonyms

lilt
vsmellifluous speech
5 8.0

A light, cheerful rhythm in speech or music

describes smooth sweet sound instead of lively rhythmic speech
euphony
vsmellifluous speech
  • Literature
1 8.6

A sound that is pleasant when words or music fit together smoothly

leans toward sweet smooth sound specifically when someone talks
melodiousness
vsmellifluous speech
5.9

A pleasant musical sound that is easy to enjoy

focuses on smooth sweet quality in talking
dovelike tone
vsmellifluous speech
6.9

A soft, gentle voice that makes people feel calm

emphasizes musical smoothness and sweetness rather than calm tone
songfulness
vsmellifluous speech
  • Literature
8.1

A pleasant sound that makes music easy to sing

focuses on sweet smooth delivery rather than singable quality

Antonyms

harsh-voiced
6.8

A voice or sound that is rough and unpleasant

How Smooth

mellifluous speech
  • Formal
7.8
plain
89 2.0

Surface Forms

mellifluous speech singular
mellifluous speeches plural

Morphology

mellifluous + speech

The meaning is directly compositional: 'mellifluous' means 'pleasant, musical-sounding' and combined with 'speech' yields 'speech that sounds smooth and sweet', so the overall sense is literally derivable from the parts. This follows a standard adjective+noun pattern and would be immediately clear to a learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Mellifluous speech comes from an old Latin word meaning 'flowing with honey', a picture of sound that is sweet and smooth. That's why mellifluous describes speech that is 'pleasant and musical' to hear.