glib en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
A shortening of either obsolete English glibbery (“slippery”) or its source, Low German glibberig, glibberich (“slippery”) / Dutch glibberig (“slippery”).
Meanings
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Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
Rather than elevating the prose, the rhymes feel glib and the sentiment vague, shorthand for an unspecified intensity: “They wanted things they couldn’t name; they wanted rest. They wanted change.”
2026 April 28, Shahidha Bari, “Having Spent Life Seeking by Kae Tempest review – painfully earnest tale of trauma and transition”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:A much more thorough examination of this period is essential, and no glib answers should be accepted as good coin.
2004 August 26, Leslie Feinberg, “Survival with Setbacks”, in Workers World:As history is raided, indeed raped, by identitarians and populists, glib judgments on the past become fodder for every tribal grievance.
2019 February 14, Simon Jenkins, “The Churchill row is part of the glib approach to history that gave us Brexit”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:glib answers
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(archaic, qualifier:literal) Smooth or slippery.
a sheet of glib ice
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Artfully persuasive but insincere in nature; smooth-talking, honey-tongued, silver-tongued.
"We are concerned that both the ITC and Ofcom appear to have accepted this glib attempt at justification. We are far from reassured in respect of programming for the Meridian region and for the ITV network, and believe that Ofcom should be much more vigilant on this issue.
2004 March 4, Owen Gibson, “Ofcom urged to crack down on 'glib' ITV”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:a glib politician
“We see the UK government talking about having victims’ voices heard,” said [Sienna] Merope-Synge. “They have talked about the need for zero tolerance and about leadership. But there are a whole bunch of victims of UN abuse who perceive the UK as very glib about supporting victims.”
2018 March 13, Karen McVeigh, quoting Sienna Merope-Synge, “'Glib': UK criticised for failing to give to fund for survivors of UN sexual abuse”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:a glib tongue
a glib speech
I want that glib and oily art, / To speak and purpose not.
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
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Snarky or unserious in a disrespectful way.
Sometimes our relationship is strained, for though we both recognize each other's intelligence, he think's I'm often too serious and I think he's often too glib
1986, Daniel Garrett, “Creating Ourselves: An Open Letter”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 93:When Mr. Franco called Mr. McCarthy and asked why he had written a book about such a repellent character, he was glib. "He said, verbatim, 'I don't know, James, probably some dumb-ass reason,'" Mr. Franco recalled.
2013 October 11, Alexandra Alter, “Literary Giant Obsessed by Movies”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2015:Its style is both open and arch, never verging on glib camp but always a little removed, reducing large emotions to small observations and thereby making them all the more effective.
1988 December 25, Michael Bronski, “...And They Called It Puppy Love”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 24, page 8:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| glibbest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| glibber | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
glibertarian · glibness · glibly
Synonyms
Translations (69)
gd leamh (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · uk меткий (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl laretas (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de gewandt (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · gl lingoreteiro (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl leriante (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · hu könnyed (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · bg гладък (smooth or slippery) · de schmierig (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · ca llepó (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · cs lehkovážný (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · hu felületes (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · cs plytký (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · it loquace (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · cs plynný (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · no rappmunnet (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · cs vemlouvavý (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · ru гла́дкий (smooth or slippery) · tr samimiyetsiz (smooth or slippery) · hu felszínes (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · pl powierzchowny (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · uk солодкомовний (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · no litt for veltalende (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · tr üstünkörü (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl larapetas (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · fr désinvolte (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl papexón (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl larapeteiro (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl zarapelo (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · no rapptunget (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · uk облесливий (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · bg словоохотлив (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de rutschig (smooth or slippery) · cs zlehčující (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de einschmeichelnd-betrügerisch (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · ca loquaç (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de beredsam (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · tr cerbezeli (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · gl paroleiro (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de oberflächlich (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · pl płytki (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · pl gładki (smooth or slippery) · de glatt (smooth or slippery) · gl lerchán (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · it fluente (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl linguateiro (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de schlüpfrig (smooth or slippery) · cs povrchní (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · ru словоохо́тливый (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gd cabanta (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · bg плъзгав (smooth or slippery) · ru болтли́вый (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl lercho (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de glattgebügelt (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · uk гладкий (smooth or slippery) · gl falabarato (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · gl lareto (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · cs uhlazený (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · de schwatzhaft (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de zungenfertig (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · ja 巧言令色な (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · hu üres (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · de aalglatt (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · pl elokwentny (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · uk говіркий (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · ca relliscós (smooth or slippery) · izh lippiäkeeli (artfully persuasive but insincere in nature) · pl wygadany (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding) · no glatt (having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding)