mel·lif·lu·ous

(mə-lĭf′lo͞o-əs)

adj.

Having a pleasant and fluid sound: "The Headmaster read a rather lengthy passage from Stephen Vincent Benet's 'The Devil and Daniel Webster' in his engaging, mellifluous voice" (John Knowles).

[Middle English, from Late Latin mellifluus : Latin mel, mell-, honey; see melit- in Indo-European roots + Latin -fluus, flowing; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]

mel·lif′lu·ous·ly adv.

mel·lif′lu·ous·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

mellifluously

adv → klangvoll; …, he said mellifluously → …, sagte er mit wohltönender or klangvoller Stimme

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature

Most mellifluously did he purr as we crowded around to stroke him; with friendly joy he licked our hands with his little red tongue; poor Paddy was a thankful cat; he was no longer lost, starving, imprisoned, helpless; he was with his comrades once more and he was going home--home to his old familiar haunts of orchard and dairy and granary, to his daily rations of new milk and cream, to the cosy corner of his own fireside.

View in context

There were excellent contributions from all sections with the two clarinets catching my ear with mellifluously delightful playing.

MUSIC REVIEWS

Just keep obfuscating mellifluously. New York Times.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES OF THE ACADEMIC ASSISTANT MODEL FOR ONLINE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS

Rich and serene imagery of Faiz's poetry mellifluously presented by the artist

Zia Mohyeddin recites Faiz

Serenely surrounded by kaleidoscopically-coloured woodlands, the radiant reservoirs mellifluously mirrored the mellow shades of an arboreal autumn.

Memories of a philanthropist; PARKER'S WAYWE REVISIT DEREK PARKER'S RAMBLES THROUGH RENFREWSHIRE

'I've been to a number of places [that] I never would have traveled to, [as] the result of his intelligent and mellifluously articulated recommendations.'

Shawn Pyfrom on surviving depression

In 1931 George Seferis wrote a poem called Denial that was later set to music by Mikis Theodorakis that became the song Sto Periyiali to Krifo sung first by Grigoris Bithikotsis and then more mellifluously by Maria Farantouri.

Greek songs for the soul: the 12 best

Once a week, a music therapist helps Herzog transform her thoughts into lyrics, then sings them back to her mellifluously over the strums of her guitar.

Music therapy offers an end-of-life grace note

Just Keep Obfuscating Mellifluously." New York Times.

Grammar checkers do not work

...and lyrically, mellifluously these silvery, impassioned and emotional words of Padre Florentino in Noli Me Tangere: "we must win our freedom by deserving it, by improving the mind and enhancing the dignity of the individual, loving what is just, what is good, what is great, to the point of dying for it."

The horizon of the 19th century as backdrop to Rizal's internationalism

His beloved, Anna Sorensen, was mellifluously sung with much beauty of tone by soprano Marianne Fiset.

L'Opera de Montreal

Narrated by the mellifluously smooth voice of national treasure Stephen Fry, LBG's first outing was a wonderfully whimsical platformer which, at first, allowed you to explore the existing landscapes and later, let your imagination run wild and design your own.

whole new world; LITTLEBIGPLANET 3 (PS3, PS4)