glib

• POS: Adjective

CIDE DICTIONARY

glib, a. [Prob. fr. D. glibberen, glippen, to slide, glibberig, glipperig, glib, slippery.].

•  Smooth; slippery; as, ice is glib.  [1913 Webster]
•  Speaking or spoken smoothly and with flippant rapidity; fluent; voluble; as, a glib tongue; a glib speech.  [1913 Webster]

  "I want that glib and oily art,
  To speak and purpose not."

Syn. -- Slippery; smooth; fluent; voluble; flippant.

glib, v. t. 

 To make glib.  Bp. Hall.  [1913 Webster]

glib, n. [Ir. & Gael. glib a lock of hair.].

 A thick lock of hair, hanging over the eyes.  [1913 Webster]
"The Irish have, from the Scythians, mantles and long glibs, which is a thick curied bush of hair hanging down over their eyes, and monstrously disguising them."  [1913 Webster]
"Their wild costume of the glib and mantle."  [1913 Webster]

glib, v. t. [Cf. O. & Prov. E. lib to castrate, geld, Prov. Dan. live, LG. & OD. lubben.].

 To castrate; to geld; to emasculate.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

glib, adj. (glibber, glibbest)
1 (of a speaker, speech, etc.) fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow.
2 archaic smooth; unimpeded.

Derivative

glibly adv. glibness n.

Etymology

rel. to obs. glibbery slippery f. Gmc: perh. imit.

THESAURUS

glib

Ciceronian, Demosthenian, Demosthenic, Mickey Mouse, Tullian, all jaw, articulate, bland, buttery, candid, casual, chatty, clear, communicative, conversational, cushy, disarming, easy, easy as pie, effortless, effusive, eloquent, expansive, facile, facund, fair-spoken, felicitous, fine-spoken, flip, fluent, fluid, frank, fulsome, gabby, garrulous, gassy, gossipy, gregarious, gushy, honey-mouthed, honey-tongued, ingratiating, light, long-winded, loquacious, multiloquent, multiloquious, newsy, nonchalant, nothing to it, oily, oily-tongued, overtalkative, painless, plain, prolix, ready, silver, silver-tongued, simple, simple as ABC, slick, smooth, smooth-spoken, smooth-tongued, smug, soapy, sociable, soft, soft-spoken, spellbinding, straightforward, suave, suave-spoken, superficial, talkative, talky, unburdensome, uncomplicated, unctuous, verbose, vocal, vocative, voluble, well-spoken, windy

ROGET THESAURUS

glib

Loquacity

N loquacity, loquaciousness, talkativeness, garrulity, multiloquence, much speaking, jaw, gabble, jabber, chatter, prate, prattle, cackle, clack, twaddle, twattle, rattle, caquet, caquetterie, blabber, bavardage, bibble-babble, gibble-gabble, small talk, fluency, flippancy, volubility, flowing, tongue, flow of words, flux de bouche, flux de mots, copia verborum, cacoethes loquendi, furor loquendi, verbosity, gift of the gab, talker, chatterer, chatterbox, babbler, rattle, ranter, sermonizer, proser, driveler, blatherskite, gossip, magpie, jay, parrot, poll, Babel, moulin a paroles, loquacious, talkative, garrulous, linguacious, multiloquous, largiloquent, chattering, chatty, declamatory, open-mouthed, fluent, voluble, glib, flippant, long tongued, long winded, trippingly on the tongue, glibly, off the reel, the tongue running fast, the tongue running loose, the tongue running on wheels, all talk and no cider, foul whisperings are abroad, what a spendthrift is he of his tongue!.

Facility

N facility, ease, easiness, capability, feasibility, flexibility, pliancy, smoothness, plain sailing, smooth sailing, straight sailing, mere child's play, holiday task, cinch, smooth water, fair wind, smooth royal road, clear coast, clear stage, tabula rasa, full play, disencumbrance, disentanglement, deoppilation, permission, simplicity, lack of complication, easy, facile, feasible, easily managed, easily accomplished, within reach, accessible, easy of access, for the million, open to, manageable, wieldy, towardly, tractable, submissive, yielding, ductile, suant, pliant, glib, slippery, smooth, on friction wheels, on velvet, unembarrassed, disburdened, unburdened, disencumbered, unencumbered, disembarrassed, exonerated, unloaded, unobstructed, untrammeled, unrestrained, at ease, light, at home with, quite at home, in one's element, in smooth water, skillful, accustomed, easily, readily, smoothly, swimmingly, on easy terms, single-handed, touch and go.