1.
[syn: eloquence, fluency, smoothness]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Eloquence \El"o*quence\, n. [F. ['e]loquence, L. eloquentia, fr.
eloquens. See Eloquent.]
1. Fluent, forcible, elegant, and persuasive speech in
public; the power of expressing strong emotions in
striking and appropriate language either spoken or
written, thereby producing conviction or persuasion.
[1913 Webster]
Eloquence is speaking out . . . out of the abundance
of the heart. --Hare.
[1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: Whatever produces the effect of moving and
persuasive speech.
[1913 Webster]
Silence that spoke and eloquence of eyes. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
The hearts of men are their books; events are their
tutors; great actions are their eloquence.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
3. That which is eloquently uttered or written.
[1913 Webster]
O, let my books be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast. --Shak.
Syn: Oratory; rhetoric.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
eloquence
n 1: powerful and effective language; "his eloquence attracted a
large congregation"; "fluency in spoken and written English
is essential"; "his oily smoothness concealed his guilt
from the police" [syn: eloquence, fluency,
smoothness]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
34 Moby Thesaurus words for "eloquence":
articulacy, articulateness, debating, declamation, demagogism,
elocution, expression, expressiveness, facility of speech,
facundity, fervor, force, forcefulness, forensics, homiletics,
lecturing, meaningfulness, oratory, passion, platform oratory,
power, public speaking, pyrotechnics, rabble-rousing, rhetoric,
speaking, speechcraft, speechification, speeching, speechmaking,
spirit, stump speaking, vigor, wordcraft
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
ELOQUENCE, n. The art of orally persuading fools that white is the
color that it appears to be. It includes the gift of making any color
appear white.