Mealy-mouthed \Meal"y-mouthed`\, a. Using soft words; plausible; affectedly or timidly delicate of speech; unwilling to tell the truth in plain language. ``Mealy-mouthed philanthropies.'' --Tennyson. She was a fool to be mealy-mouthed where nature speaks so plain. --L'Estrange. -- {Meal"y-mouth`ness}, n.