Standard Lemma guide

fluency

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈfluːənsi/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F L UW1 AH0 N S IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The quality of smoothness of flow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The quality of being fluent in a language; a person's command of a particular language.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The quality of consistently applying skill correctly in the manner of one well-practiced at it, requiring little deliberate thought to perform without mistakes

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The inherent ability to use a language easily and accurately.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the quality of being facile in speech and writing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: volubility, articulateness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: communicativeness

6

noun

Meaning 6

skillfulness in speaking or writing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: disfluency

Broader terms: skillfulness

7

noun

Meaning 7

powerful and effective language

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his eloquence attracted a large congregation
  • fluency in spoken and written English is essential
  • his oily smoothness concealed his guilt from the police

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eloquence, smoothness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: expressive style, style

History

Etymology

From Late Latin fluentia, equivalent to fluent + -cy. Cognate with French fluence.

Across languages

Translations

66 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: սահունություն (sahunutʻyun) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Bulgarian: течливост (tečlivost) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Chinese Mandarin: 流暢 /流畅 (liúchàng) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Finnish: virtaavuus — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Finnish: nestemäisyys — quality of smoothness of flow
  • German: Flüssigkeit — quality of smoothness of flow
  • German: Fluss — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Hungarian: könnyedség — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Hungarian: gördülékenység — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Hungarian: folyékonyság — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Irish: éascaíocht — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Irish: líofacht — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Japanese: 流暢 (ryūchō) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Korean: 유창 (yuchang) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Polish: biegłość — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Portuguese: fluidez — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Romanian: fluiditate — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Romanian: fluență — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Russian: бе́глость (béglostʹ) — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Spanish: fluidez — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Spanish: fluencia — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Turkish: akıcılık — quality of smoothness of flow
  • Armenian: սահունություն (sahunutʻyun) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Armenian: արագախոսություն (aragaxosutʻyun) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Catalan: fluïdesa — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Chinese Mandarin: 流利 (liúlì) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Dutch: vlotheid — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Esperanto: flueco — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Finnish: sujuvuus — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • German: Sprechflüssigkeit — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • German: Geläufigkeit — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • German: Flüssigkeit — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Greek: ευφράδεια (effrádeia) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Greek: ευχέρεια (efchéreia) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Ancient Greek: εὐρημοσύνη (eurēmosúnē) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Hebrew: רהיטות (r'hitut) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Hindi: रवानी (ravānī) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Hungarian: folyékony nyelvtudás — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Icelandic: flæði — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Irish: líofacht — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Italian: scioltezza — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Japanese: ぺらぺら (perapera) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Japanese: 流暢 (ryūchō) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Khmer: ភាពស្ទាត់ជំនាញ (phiəp-stŏətcumniəñ) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Korean: 유창 (yuchang) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Korean: 유려 (yuryeo) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Latin: lēvitās — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Malay: kefasihan — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Pannonian Rusyn: чечносц (čečnosc) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Polish: płynność — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Polish: biegłość — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Portuguese: fluência — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Romanian: fluență — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Russian: свобо́дное владе́ние (svobódnoje vladénije) — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Spanish: fluidez — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Spanish: soltura — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Spanish: facundia — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Thai: ความคล่องแคล่ว — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Turkish: akıcılık — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Vietnamese: sự thành thạo — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Welsh: rhuglder — linguistics: being fluent in a language
  • Hungarian: jártasság — quality of consistently applying skill correctly
  • Korean: 능숙도 (neungsukdo) — quality of consistently applying skill correctly
  • Polish: biegłość — quality of consistently applying skill correctly
  • Spanish: desenvoltura — quality of consistently applying skill correctly
  • Spanish: desparpajo — quality of consistently applying skill correctly