speechless
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
unable to speak because you are very shocked, surprised, or angry.
temporarily unable to speak, especially as a result of a strong emotional reaction such as shock, amazement, or indignation.
Simple“The surprise party was so unexpected that it left her completely speechless.”
In context“The witness was momentarily speechless after the prosecutor presented the incriminating evidence that contradicted his earlier testimony.”
UsageOften follows verbs like 'leave', 'remain', or 'be'.
SynonymsAntonymstalkativeloquacious - 02 C2 Proficiency
so bad or shocking that it is impossible to describe with words.
beyond the power of description; used to describe something so extreme or horrific that language fails.
Simple“The survivors spoke of the speechless horrors they witnessed during the war.”
In context“The poet struggled to find metaphors for the speechless beauty of the mountain range at sunset.”
UsageIn modern English, 'unspeakable' is much more common for this meaning.
Synonyms
“It is partly because there are unanswered questions around their marriage but also because it has all been so enjoyably comical that this switch to tragedy leaves Bev speechless and at sea, for once.”
From Middle English specheles, from Old English sprǣċlēas (“speechless; without the power of speak”), from Proto-Germanic *sprēkalausaz, equivalent to speech + -less. Cognate with West Frisian sprakeleas (“speechless”), Dutch sprakeloos (“speechless”), German Low German spraaklos (“speechless”), German sprachlos (“speechless”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.