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Glite Dictionary
to speak of

to speak of

532 1.9
To talk about someone or something
  • phrasal verb
  • /spiːk ʌv/
translation icon : hablar de
  • In her speech, she chose to speak of the importance of education.
  • speak of a need
  • speak of morality
  • speak of democracy

This is why, I guess the New York Times speaks of a gold rush.

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Examples

  • The world is what we say it is, and what we speak of is the world.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Well, speaking of Scott, have you seen his new challenge?

    #No_Filter (2022)

  • Yeah, so we speak of things in the present just because it's easier.

    StarTalk

  • Hey, speaking of head shape, what do you think?

    Babes (2024)

  • We do not speak of him here.

    Francis of Assisi (1961)

  • Where is this inheritance you speak of, hmm?

    Milarepa (2025)

  • Few things bother me more than when I hear my peers speak of "engineers and scientists."

    Academic text (2011)

  • For example, one student spoke of an experience of his roommate, an Aboriginal student.

    Academic text (2011)

  • But to speak of democracy in the Arab world is not necessarily to speak of liberal democracy.

    Academic text (2011)

  • At a continental level, however, it is not an exaggeration to speak of the "failure of Africa."

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

to talk about
vsto speak of
∞ 1.3

Speak with someone about a subject

is used when someone says or writes about something
to speak
vsto speak of
∞ 1.0

To talk with someone to share thoughts or feelings

is specifically to say or write about someone or something
to mention
vsto speak of
∞ 1.0

To briefly refer to someone or something in words

is the general act of saying or writing about something
to refer
vsto speak of
818 2.4

Talk about someone or something to draw attention to them

is about saying or writing about things rather than guiding attention
to mention it
vsto speak of
282 1.6

To say something in conversation or writing

is the wider idea of saying or writing about matters
to talk of
vsto speak of
127 2.5

Mention something in conversation

is used generally rather than only for brief cases
to make mention of
vsto speak of
  • Formal
6 3.6

To briefly say something about a person or thing

is broader, covering general saying or writing about things
to speak fondly of
vsto speak of
1 3.6

To talk about someone or something in a warm, kind way

is the neutral act of saying or writing about people or things

Antonyms

to omit
66 3.4

Leave out something, for example a name, on purpose or by accident

How Detailed

to elaborate
79 4.2
to discuss
∞ 1.6
to talk about
∞ 1.3
to speak of
532 1.9
to bring up
788 2.6
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

speak of infinitive
speaking of present participle
speaks of third person singular
spoke of past
spoken of past participle

Morphology

speak + of

The meaning 'to talk about or mention' is directly and predictably composed from 'speak' (to use words) plus the preposition 'of' marking the topic or aboutness; a learner who knows both constituents can infer the phrase. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'hablar de', French 'parler de'), so it will be transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Speak of comes from the simple image of someone using words to point to a person or thing, with speak meaning 'say' and of meaning 'about'. So speak of means 'to mention' or 'to talk about'.