tonguy
tonguy is the alternative form of tonguey.
Meaning of tonguey
Adjective
tonguey (comparative tonguier or more tonguey, superlative tonguiest or most tonguey)
- Tending to talk a lot; fluent or voluble in speech (generally with an unfavourable connotation).
- Seeing then he is now so mute, that before was so tonguy […]1608, Philip Woodward, Bels Trial Examined, Doai, Preface
- Synonyms:
- garrulous, loquacious, talkative
- Using many words; containing grandiloquent expressions; marked by rhetorical elegance (generally with an unfavourable connotation).
- […] personal abuse and tonguy sarcasm are not elements of success in law practice.1885, J. H. Battle, Kentucky: A History of the State, Louisville, KY: F.A. Battey, “Biographical Sketches,” p. 839
- Manifested by fluent or voluble speech.
- […] even his tonguey confidence and ingenuousness could glean but little satisfaction from his interviews with the rheumatic and unbelieving old woman.1887, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, “The Bar Light-House”, in A Humble Romance, and Other Stories, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 182
- Involving the tongue.
- Wully seated himself upon the corner of the kitchen table, from beneath which appeared a dog’s welcoming nose accompanied by a tonguey, tooth-trimmed grin.1918, F. Roney Weir, chapter 13, in Merry Andrew, Boston: Small, Maynard, page 187
- Resembling a tongue.
- These tonguey bracts or scaly appendages […] never become shorter than the proper cone scales, or so as to be hid from outside view.1882, Albert Kellogg, Forest Trees of California, Sacramento: J.D. Young, “The Noble Silver Fir,” p. 34
Forms of tonguy
| comparative | tonguier |
|---|---|
| comparative | more tonguy |
| superlative | tonguiest |
| superlative | most tonguy |
Origin of tonguy
From Middle English tungy, equivalent to tongue + -y.
Questions about tonguy
- What is tonguy the alternative form of?
- Tonguy is the alternative form of tonguey.
Words near tonguy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tonguy (page history and authors); tonguey (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “tonguy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tonguy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
