Noun: disfluency dis'floo-un(t)-see
- Lack of skilfulness in speaking or writing
"His disfluency made public speaking a challenge"
- An interruption or break in the smooth flow of speech, such as hesitations, repetitions, or fillers like "um" or "uh"
"Disfluencies are common in natural conversation"
Derived forms: disfluencies
Type of: unskilfulness [Brit, Cdn], unskillfulness [N. Amer]
Antonym: fluency
Encyclopedia: Disfluency