Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Speechless or confused in expression, as from shyness, embarrassment, or astonishment.
- adj. Affected with tongue-tie.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Having the tongue tied, by reason of the shortness of the bridle or frenum, to the extent of impeding speech or causing indistinct articulation.
- Unable to speak out or freely from whatever cause, as embarrassment: as, “tongue-tied simplicity,”
Wiktionary
- adj. idiomatic Unable to express oneself clearly or fluently; at a loss for words.
- adj. Suffering from tongue-tie or ankyloglossia.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Destitute of the power of distinct articulation; having an impediment in the speech, esp. when caused by a short frænum.
- adj. Unable to speak freely, from whatever cause.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. unable to express yourself clearly or fluently
Examples
“I have ever been tongue-tied with the king, and I have never been able to play anything.”
“Never had a guy made me feel so flustered, so completely tongue-tied, so . . . so hyperaware and self-conscious as this one did.”
“When I tried to do what they wanted, I was a tongue-tied mess.”
“How is it that we find a way to ask a boss for a raise or tell a spouse we hate their outfit, but we end up tongue-tied when we try to say "I love you" to the people who matter most to us?”
The Wall Street Journal: I Just Called to Say, Ahem, I, Uhh, Love You
“When he bumped into people, instead of thanking them for keeping him on his feet, he complained in a slurred and tongue-tied voice.”
“I could have said many different things at that point, or I could have suffered from a tongue-tied teenager attack, but I opted to give credit where it was due.”
“I can't recall another moment when I was ever tongue-tied.”
“Apple -- whose marketers introduced the iPod with the pithy pitch "a thousand songs in your pocket" -- seems positively tongue-tied when seeking to describe Apple TV.”
The Huffington Post: Smart TV: Still The Tech World's Afghanistan?
“There was something inexpressibly sacred about it, yet she found herself tongue-tied.”
“The ruling was hailed as a shift away from what tongue-tied media organizations here call "super injunctions" — orders that prevent media outlets from naming the person who obtained the injunction, or that such an injunction even exists.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tongue-tied’.
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Dominant/Submissive
abusive, adamant, autocratic, bossy, bullheaded, bumptious, certain, cock-a-hoop, cocksure, cocky, commanding, compelling and 189 more...
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anatomopeia
Sounds like you are .........
green-fingered, lily-livered, yellow-bellied, bleary-eyed, hare-brained, loose-tongued, tongue-tied, sure-footed, two-faced, double-jointed, light-fingered, bone idle and 71 more...
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Favorite Words
quixotic, assonance, palindrome, plebeian, mezzanine, propinquity, etymology, antihero, intrepid, refractions, lawless, sesquipedalian and 237 more...
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awkward
tongue-tied
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Speaking in tongues
Tongue words and phrases.
tongue-tied, tongue-lashing, tongue-twister, tongue-in-cheek, forked tongue, tongue-chain, speaking in tongues, gift of tongues, on the tip of one..., tongue-work, tongue-fence, tongue bone and 72 more...
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double-barreled? not really
self-important, heart-wrenching, tongue-tied, honey-tongued, self-referential, uber-chic, double-barreled, foul-mouthed, self-contained, hard-boiled, modern-day, near-future and 10 more...
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smilingwords's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tongue-tied.
smilingwords The best description when I met someone:)How can I get rid of that?!So awkward,so "not myself". Jan 31, 2007