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Mellifluous

Adjective

IPA /məˈlɪfluəs/

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Meaning in plain English

Sweet or musical; pleasant to hear.

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Pronunciation

Mellifluous/məˈlɪfluəs/

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A smooth, musical voice
Pleasant to listen to

A mellifluous voice has a sweet, flowing sound.

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The singer’s mellifluous voice captivated the entire audience.
He spoke in a mellifluous tone that made even bad news sound gentle.

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The singer’s ________ voice captivated the entire audience.

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Mellifluous — Sweet or musical; pleasant to hear.

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Sweet or musical; pleasant to hear.

Compare: The singer’s mellifluous voice captivated the entire audience.

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Mellifluous describes the sound

Use mellifluous for a smooth, pleasant voice or flow of sound. It is a literary adjective, stronger and less everyday than pleasant. An argument can sound mellifluous without being convincing: the sound of the delivery and the quality of the reasoning are separate.

In context: The narrator’s mellifluous voice made the bedtime story soothing.

Try it: A speaker has a beautiful voice but gives weak reasons. Can the voice still be mellifluous?

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Yes. Mellifluous describes how the voice sounds. Cogent would describe a convincing argument.

Compare with Cogent →

Dictionary reference: Merriam-Webster: Mellifluous.

Word origin

From Latin mellifluus — mel (“honey”) + fluere (“to flow”), literally “flowing with honey.”

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Mellifluous is formal and commonly describes a voice or music that sounds smooth and pleasant.

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