Speak

/spiːk/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
2. (intransitive, reciprocal) To have a conversation.
3. (by extension) To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.
4. (intransitive) To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
5. (transitive, stative) To be able to communicate in a language.
6. (transitive) To utter.
7. (transitive) To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.
8. (informal, transitive, sometimes humorous) To understand (as though it were a language).

Example Sentences

I was so surprised I couldn't speak.

You're speaking too fast.

And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.

It's been ages since we've spoken.

He spoke of it in his diary.

Speak to me only with your eyes.

Actions speak louder than words.

Then said the gods, making the signs of the gods and speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegāna should blush; then said the gods to one another, speaking with Their hands: “Let Us make worlds to amuse Ourselves while Māna rests. Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky; only let Us not break the silence upon Pegāna.”

Synonyms for speak

Antonyms for speak

Related Words

Word Forms

• speaks
• speaking
• spoke
• spake
• no-table-tags
• glossary
• speak
• speakest
• spokest
• speaketh
• -
• spoken
• speake
• speke

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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