Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mealy-mouthed

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.32 in modern English

Syllables: mealy--mouthed
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Prone to speaking evasively, indirectly, or duplicitously; not forthright.

Example Sentences

"The surliness with which the woodchopper speaks of his woods, handling them as indifferently as his axe, is better than the mealy-mouthed enthusiasm of the lover of nature."
"The editors engage in mealy-mouthed apologetics, setting up Orthodox Jews as agents of gentrification, yet they fail to note that it is not white hipsters being beaten but longtime residents of Williamsburg and Crown Heights."

Etymology

Possibly from German Mehl im Maule behalten, via Martin Luther

Origin

Source language: German

Word Breakdown

Root: Mehl im Maule behalten

Inflected Forms

more mealy-mouthed (comparative) most mealy-mouthed (superlative) mealmouthed (alternative) meal-mouthed (alternative) mealymouthed (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

mealmouth

Synonyms

mealymouthed

Questions

What does mealy-mouthed mean?: Prone to speaking evasively, indirectly, or duplicitously; not forthright.
Where does mealy-mouthed come from?: It is traced to German.

How to pronounce mealy-mouthed

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