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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In the film, Leo, described as a mute young orphan girl with a world of thoughts inside her, and Lou, a jaded, middle-aged nihilist, take a journey together.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025 -
Joel Kinnaman plays Brian, a regular guy who becomes a super-buff warrior after gang members accidentally kill his son and leave Brian permanently mute — hence, an action film in which there’s virtually no dialogue.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
8 Feb. 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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This is something incomprehensible to any human being.—
Caitlin McFall,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
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The loss of Oakland’s MLB team and then the city’s greatest MLB son in the same year is an almost incomprehensible loss for fans like Peters, who feel abandoned by the league.—
Melissa Lockard,
The Athletic,
21 Dec. 2024
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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At the climax of this bizarre collection of movements S… would let out a harsh, inarticulate cry.—
Caitlyn Murphy,
Hazlitt,
13 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Read Article > Feb 3 Eric Levitz Donald Trump has incoherent and unhinged beliefs about trade policy.—
Vox Staff,
Vox,
7 Feb. 2025
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The worst, like the tonally incoherent Apple Cider Vinegar, reflect this queasiness without saying much of value about it.—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And university leaders fearing government investigations, funding cuts, or punitive endowment taxes crack down on campus protest, remove or demote outspoken professors, and remain silent in the face of growing authoritarianism.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
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The story ends up focusing not on the man who could not remain silent, but on a man who held his tongue.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near tongue-tied
Cite this Entry
“Tongue-tied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-tied. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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