tight-mouthed

[ tahyt-mouthd, -moutht ]

adjective

1. tight-lipped.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tight-mouthed¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

In lieu of ripeness, seed heads throughout the gardens present an eerie, ossified architecture: tight-mouthed trumpets of Iris sibirica, alliums like exploding stars.

From New York Times

He gave me a tight-mouthed look, making it clear that he was disappointed by my lack of originality while at the same time revealing himself asa master spotter of prescription junkies.

From Literature

The bad faith was perhaps most apparent in the contradictory message being pushed by Patrick and his team of tight-mouthed Bible brandishers.

From Salon

A few days before the referendum, Gikas Hardouvelis, a senior Greek economist who was Varoufakis’s predecessor as minister of finance, sat at a café in a northern suburb of Athens, speaking with the tight-mouthed fury of someone who can longer maintain his public discretion.

From The New Yorker

Is it robust and plain-speaking, proud of its comic swagger, or is there something tight-mouthed in its imperative, with a hint of “or else” hanging off the end?

From The New Yorker