Definition of fluent in English:

Share this entry

fluent

Pronunciation: /ˈflo͞oənt/

1(Of a person) able to express oneself easily and articulately: a fluent speaker and writer on technical subjects

Darnell talked for two minutes and said a lot less than a fluent speaker could have communicated in three sentences…
By that definition, only a handful of fluent speakers remains.
It points out that fluent speakers have fallen from 250,000 over 80 years ago to under 30,000 today.
Get more examples

articulate, eloquent, expressive, communicative, coherent, cogent, illuminating, vivid, well written/spoken

1.1(Of a person) able to speak or write a particular foreign language easily and accurately: she became fluent in French and German

I'm nearly 26, I have a first class honours degree, I'm fluent in a foreign language, and I can't even get a job that pays peanuts in a provincial theatre.
He, however, confesses that he is not very fluent in the foreign languages since he does not get too much of a chance to converse in those languages.
As a result, there's a fairly good chance that the child will, if not be entirely fluent in another language, be able to understand and speak a few words of a foreign language.
Get more examples

articulate;

(be fluent in) have a (good) command of

1.2(Of a foreign language) spoken accurately and with facility: he spoke fluent Spanish

Franklin Roosevelt spoke fluent French and German and worked to create the United Nations, but no one doubted that his allegiance was to America above all.
They speak fluent French, passable German, and have notions of Spanish.
The restaurant manager spoke fluent English and German and all the staff were very attentive without being intrusive.
Get more examples

1.3(Of speech, language, movement, or style) smoothly graceful and easy: his style of play was fast and fluent

He left ECM in 1985, so this compilation covers the first decade of his career: the melodies are fresh; the solos are fluent and graceful.
His piano playing is smooth, fluent and inventive and the band, when given room to breathe, turn in some fine playing.
The elf smiled, concentrating for a moment, then glanced up, tracing one hand across invisible arcane symbols in graceful, fluent motions.
Get more examples

free-flowing, smooth, effortless, easy, natural, fluid;

graceful, elegant;

regular, rhythmic

1.4Able to flow freely; fluid: a fluent discharge from the nose

Late 16th century (also in the literal sense 'flowing freely or abundantly'): from Latin fluent- 'flowing', from the verb fluere.

affluent from Late Middle English:
From Latin affluere ‘flow towards’, affluent was originally used to describe water either flowing towards a place or flowing freely without any restriction. It later came to mean ‘abundant’ and then ‘wealthy’, a meaning which dates from the mid 18th century. Related words, all based on Latin fluere ‘to flow’ are fluent (late 16th century) and fluid (Late Middle English); flume (Middle English) originally a stream; flux (Late Middle English) a state of flowing; effluent (Late Middle English) something that flows out; and superfluous (Late Middle English) ‘overflowing’.

pursuant, truant

Syllabification: flu·ent

Share this entry