Meaning & use
smooth talker
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Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A person who speaks so charmingly and confidently that others are easily persuaded, sometimes without being sincere.
Grammar: Countable: a smooth talker, those smooth talkers.
Patterns
- be a smooth talker
- a smooth talker with something
The salesman was such a smooth talker that I nearly signed the contract.
Don't trust him; he's a smooth talker who always has an excuse.
My brother is a smooth talker and usually gets out of trouble.
Word forms
| plural | smooth talkers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a real smooth talker
- He's a real smooth talker with the customers.
- beware of a smooth talker
- Beware of a smooth talker who promises quick money.
- fall for a smooth talker
- She fell for a smooth talker and lost her savings.
- charming smooth talker
- A charming smooth talker convinced them to buy.
- a smooth talker in sales
- She became a smooth talker in sales after years of practice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- charmer
- A charmer is simply someone pleasant and appealing, while a smooth talker uses words to persuade and may be insincere.
- silver-tongued
- Silver-tongued is an adjective and sounds more literary, praising eloquent speech.
- fast talker
- A fast talker suggests tricking people with quick, confusing speech, so it is more clearly negative.
- flatterer
- A flatterer praises people to win favor, while a smooth talker persuades in many ways.
Opposites
Word family
- smooth-talk verb
- to persuade someone with charming words
- smooth-talking adjective
- persuading with charming words
- smoothly adverb
- in an easy, flowing way
Commonly confused: smooth talker or fast talker?
smooth talker vs fast talker
A fast talker deceives with quick, bewildering speech, while a smooth talker wins people over with charm.
Practice
The car dealer was a ___, so I checked every detail of the contract myself.
Choose one answer.
A smooth talker persuades with charm, which is why she distrusted him and checked the contract. The other options do not explain the need for caution.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “smooth talker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.