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Glite Dictionary
incendiary speech

incendiary speech

8.7
A speech that makes people very angry or causes unrest
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈsɛndiˌɛri spiːtʃ/
  • Literature
translation icon : discurso incendiario
  • Her incendiary speech against corporate greed resonated with attendees, leaving them motivated to demand change.

Examples

  • During the rally, the speaker delivered an incendiary speech that urged the crowd to take action against the government.

  • The politician's incendiary speech ignited protests across the city, stirring widespread anger among the citizens.

  • IAP's primary activity consisted of annual conferences, which hosted various Islamist luminaries who often gave incendiary speeches.

    Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

provocation
vsincendiary speech
58 7.2

An action or comment that makes someone react, often making them angry

is a public talk meant to cause large-scale strong reactions and unrest
tirade
vsincendiary speech
25 7.7

A long angry speech that criticizes someone or something

is meant to cause broad unrest or anger rather than only venting
invective
vsincendiary speech
  • Offensive
10 8.8

Angry words that strongly insult someone

tries to cause public anger or unrest rather than merely insult one person
fulmination
vsincendiary speech
  • Formal
1 9.9

A loud angry speech that attacks a person or idea

aims to cause strong emotional reactions or unrest rather than protest alone
incendiary claim
vsincendiary speech
  • Literature
7.7

A statement that makes many people very angry or upset

is a longer public talk aiming to stir large-scale anger or unrest

Antonyms

calm
735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

reassuring
78 3.1

Makes someone feel less worried and calmer

How Inflammatory

incendiary speech
  • Literature
8.7
speech
  • Informal
184 4.8

Surface Forms

incendiary speech singular
incendiary speeches plural

Morphology

incendiary + speech

The meaning 'a speech intended to provoke strong reactions' is directly and compositionally derived from 'incendiary' (tending to incite or provoke) + 'speech' (an oral address). This adjective+noun combination is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern and therefore comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase incendiary speech comes from the image of words as fire: incendiary means 'that starts fires' and speech is what someone says. One popular picture is a speaker throwing a lit match into a crowd, so the 'words' can light anger or trouble, and that's why the phrase means 'to cause strong feelings or trouble'.