eloquence
powerful, fluent expression
Roots
- e- / ex-: out, out of, away, or forth
- loqu / locut: speak
Other words with the loqu / locut root
- circumlocution: roundabout speech
- colloquial: informal in speech or writing
- colloquy: a conversation or formal discussion
- eloquent: fluent and persuasive in speech
- grandiloquent: pompous in speech
- interlocutor: a person taking part in a conversation
- loquacious: talkative
Eloquence is speech with force and shape: words arranged so they move people.
Her eloquence did not come from big words; it came from saying the exact thing the room needed.
Put eloquence beside loquacious. Both live near speech, but they are not the same. Eloquence controls language; loquaciousness spills it. That contrast helps both words stay sharp.