tongue-tied

adjective

Definition of tongue-tiednext
as in mute
unable to speak because you are nervous or shy She became tongue-tied whenever he was around. He gets tongue-tied in front of crowds.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tongue-tied My two companions—one of whom was Alabaster—seemed a bit tongue-tied. — Literary Hub, 22 July 2026 But on April 24, Stanford got tongue-tied when asked to explain her position on abolishing ICE. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 18 May 2026 At times, Raman was tongue-tied trying to answer simple questions. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-tied
  1. mute
  2. speechless
  3. incomprehensible
  4. inarticulate
  5. incoherent
  6. silent
Adjective
  • Like many mascots, the Demon Deacon is mute, so being able to ask and answer questions through body language and gestures is a critical skill.
    — Katie Riley, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Marceline Hugot, who plays Kathy Geiss, the mute daughter of GE’s boss Don Geiss, made a brief but thrilling appearance on trumpet.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of mute
Adjective
  • By the end, the audience is left almost speechless — and still thinking about this singular, deeply original performance long after Lyons has left the stage.
    — Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
  • His friends, from brother Luigi (Charlie Day) to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) veer in a similar direction, somehow coming across less fully formed and three-dimensional than their nearly speechless inspirations from Nintendo‘s flagship franchise.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of speechless
Adjective
  • Stanton’s confession ends up being incomprehensible to anyone but himself—an irony that McCarthy, with his partiality for secret codes, seems to take great pleasure in.
    — Max Callimanopulos, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Sure, the story is incomprehensible, and Dylan is far from a great actor.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of incomprehensible
Adjective
  • The cloud was blank and inarticulate, a monolith with no secrets to reveal to any of its human witnesses.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Just as between them William James and Michael Oakeshott told us that there is no such thing as unmediated experience, so, surely, there is no such thing as inarticulate thought.
    — Richard Lansdown, The New York Review of Books, 25 June 2026
Definition of inarticulate
Adjective
  • Tyson is at once scary, funny, personable, distasteful, introspective, superficial, articulate and incoherent.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Only coherent enterprises can confidently move fast, while the incoherent spend years undoing debt that’s compounded.
    — Madhu Shashanka, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of incoherent
Adjective
  • Final Thoughts The Hisense 8,000 BTU UltraSlim Smart Inverter is a standout window air conditioner that effortlessly balances sleek design, near-silent operation, and top-tier performance.
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The California Democratic Party opposes the measure, but many of its leading officials have stayed silent.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of silent

Browse Nearby Words

tongues
tongue-tied
tonic
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Cite this Entry

“Tongue-tied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-tied. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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