to speak out against
44
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /spiːk aʊt əˈɡɛnst/
:
oponerse públicamente a
- She had the courage to speak out against the injustices happening in her community.
- speak out against the government
- citizens speak out against
- leaders speak out against
They can't even speak out against sexual predators.
- They can't even speak out against sexual predators.
- For example, fight them legally or speak out against them.
- And more and more people have gained the courage to speak out against it, right?
- This is whatever when he maybe before he was a senator, he spoke out against the Iraq war.
- When you originally went on, what was it ABC and you spoke out against the the torture program.
- I wasn't offended by it, so I wasn't going to speak out against it for the sake of it.
- Some historians dispute that, but there's enough historians do agree that he did speak out against the alphabet.
- Protests are occurring around the world and people are coming together to speak out against systemic oppression.
- That's a costly signal because boy is it costly for you to speak out against things that otherwise might get your head chopped off.
- So speaking out against racism was always going to put me in a very tricky spot, right?
- And that happened when Leah Remini, you know, the sitcom star left Scientology and started to speak out against them.
Examples
-
And we have to speak out against gangsters like that.
-
Protests are occurring around the world and people are coming together to speak out against systemic oppression.
-
These women spoke out against Trump, and he still became president.
-
Every man, woman, and child is going to speak out against you.
-
So, we're speaking out against the celebration.
-
You know, I took to the floor last night to speak out against Russell Vote.
-
More than ever, citizens are speaking out against the regime with greater freedom and less fear.
Academic text (1999) -
So speaking out against racism was always going to put me in a very tricky spot, right?
-
If you spoke out against apartheid, you could be thrown into prison for three years.
-
To this day, Claudette Colvin continues to speak out against inequality.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
2.9
To be against something and try to stop it
597
3.4
To strongly criticize someone or something in public
298
4.0
To strongly criticize someone or something publicly
283
3.2
To show strong disagreement in public, often by joining a march or strike
115
6.8
Publicly criticize someone or something strongly
71
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
68
4.6
Publicly criticize a person or group for bad actions
40
3.6
To show in public that you strongly disagree with something
31
7.7
To say in public that something is bad or wrong
26
7.7
To express strong disapproval of someone, often in an official statement
23
4.6
Publicly say you strongly agree or disagree with something
22
3.7
To resist a person or rule that treats people unfairly
15
4.2
To say in public that you do not support something
9
7.0
To say your opinion or complain loudly and openly
2
9.9
To speak or write strongly against something
1
9.0
To speak or write very angrily against something to show strong criticism
1
4.4
To state an opinion strongly and refuse to change it when others disagree
1
9.7
To disagree strongly with someone to try to stop them
1
5.8
Tell someone publicly that they did something wrong
1
6.7
To criticize someone or something strongly in public
1
9.9
Angrily criticize someone or something
Attack someone with strong words in public
Antonyms
How Opposed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to publicly express strong opposition' is directly derivable from combining 'speak' (to talk) with 'out' (openly/publicly) and 'against' (in opposition). This compositional pattern matches standard English particle + preposition uses and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Speak out against comes from the simple image of someone stepping forward and speaking out, that is, speaking loudly, while standing against an idea or action. So it means 'to say in public that you are strongly against something'.