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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-tied
Adjective
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There was an overlapping interest in language; despite being neither deaf nor mute, Wong learned and practiced American Sign Language.—
Max Lakin,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025 -
Snow White’s empathetic friendship with the apparently mute Dopey works like a charm, which compensates for the general comic unfunniness of the dwarfs chaos.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In helicopter video taken by Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina and posted online the people aboard are largely speechless.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
10 Aug. 2023
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Because his work, as is often the case, leaves us almost speechless.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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When technology changes so quickly that even Millennials are shaking their heads at Gen Z’s incomprehensible habits, what chance do ageing parents have to stay a step ahead of their kids?—
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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This is something incomprehensible to any human being.—
Caitlin McFall,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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From this, and similarly strong but inarticulate reactions, Haidt concluded that the students had arrived at their judgments impulsively.—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
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Fans of high culture should welcome vulgarization in a pinch, the same way that devout Sunday school teachers welcome the untutored, inarticulate, undirected faith of a child.—
Michelle Weber,
Longreads,
11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Witnesses on the flight told authorities Augustin was stomping, yelling, shaking and being incoherent, the document continued.—
Jonathan Limehouse,
USA TODAY,
13 Mar. 2025
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The end result is an incoherent jumble that clearly got lost in the edit, or was it rescued by it?—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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So far, the ESA has been silent on Trump excluding video game consoles from his tariff exemptions.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
14 Apr. 2025
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The Taliban are also silent on the other restrictions and whether there is any chance of removing them.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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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 Apr. 2025.
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