glib

adjective \ ˈglib \

Updated on: 3 Dec 2017

Definition of glib

glibber; glibbest

1 a : marked by ease and informality : nonchalant

b : showing little forethought or preparation : offhand

glib answers

c : lacking depth and substance : superficial

glib solutions to knotty problems

2 archaic : smooth, slippery

3 : marked by ease and fluency in speaking or writing often to the point of being insincere or deceitful

a glib politician

—

glibly

adverb

—

glibness

noun

See glib defined for English-language learners

See glib defined for kids

Examples of glib in a Sentence

Or they could have saddled us with "The Stranger," which had the mitigating charm of being glib and pretentious and would thus have kept the kids who were obviously going to end up at Bard happy. —Joe Queenan, New York Times Book Review, 3 June 2007
The problem was that the candidate anticipated all the questions, knew all the answers and tended to pop out the reply the moment the question was asked; it made him seem like a smart aleck, too glib. —William Safire, New York Times Magazine, 16 June 1991
Some of the glibbest persons in the nation are oddly tongue-tied when the Bible is brought up. —Garry Wills, Under God, 1990
I expected a glib ladies' man, which he's not. He is an introspective man with deep emotions. —Loni Anderson, quoted in People Weekly, 6 Nov. 1989
Politicians need to do more than provide glib answers to difficult questions.
the actor's glib portrayal of a drug addict

Recent Examples of glib from the Web

For a few minutes, Baywatch drops its glib tone and invests in actual character development.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Comedy / Film Zac Efron's performance is one of the only reasons to see Baywatch," 5 June 2017
The edits are more dramatic than the glib story’s outcome.

— special to the washington post, The Denver Post, "“Past Life”: A family melodrama starting in 1970s West Berlin masquerades as murder mystery," 16 June 2017
For Cruise -- who's front and center in practically every scene -- the glib Seal offers one of the meatiest roles he's enjoyed in a while.

— brian lowry, CNN, "Tom Cruise takes off in well-built 'American Made'," 29 Sep. 2017
And the right personality — witty, articulate, intelligent and glib.

— paul doyle, courant.com, "Lobo Heads Into Hall Of Fame, Called Icon Of Women's Basketball," 6 Sep. 2017
To his credit, Cillizza seemed unfazed as one Redditor after another rightly eviscerated him for his glib approach to political analysis, in which there is no such thing as right and wrong, only winners and losers.

— will oremus, Slate Magazine, "Chris Cillizza Is a Bad Pundit and a Good Sport," 18 July 2017
The blame deflection came off as glib and unconvincing.

— max chafkin, Bloomberg.com, "Mark Zuckerberg’s Fake News Problem Isn’t Going Away," 22 Sep. 2017
The glib answer is that Mr. Hersch’s near-death experience pushed him on to a higher artistic plateau.

— ted gioia, WSJ, "A Life Played by Ear," 8 Sep. 2017
The glib and easy use of the term can also lead to nauseating self-righteousness.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Flaunts His Indifference to the Rule of Law," 1 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glib.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of glib

probably modification of Low German glibberig slippery

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First Known Use: 1584

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GLIB Defined for English Language Learners

glib

adjective

Definition of glib for English Language Learners

: said or done too easily or carelessly : showing little preparation or thought
: speaking in a smooth, easy way that is not sincere

GLIB Defined for Kids

glib

adjective \ ˈglib \

Definition of glib for Students

glibber; glibbest

: speaking or spoken carelessly and often insincerely

a glib answer

—

glibly

adverb

Learn More about glib

See words that rhyme with glib Spanish Central: Translation of glib Nglish: Translation of glib for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of glib for Arabic speakers

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Definition of glib

glibly

glibness

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GLIB Defined for English Language Learners

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glibly

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Origin and Etymology of glib

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