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speech

speech

539 1.0
The ability to use words with your voice to show thoughts or feelings
  • noun
  • /spiːtʃ/
: habla
  • I've rehearsed this speech a thousand times on the chance that we would meet.
  • speech and language
  • speech production
  • speech therapy

Even valueless speech is speech which is permitted.

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Examples

  • He carefully prepared his speech to express his gratitude to his supporters.

  • The teacher praised her for delivering an inspiring speech at the graduation ceremony.

  • You listen to any campaign speech, you hear a lot of that.

  • So the idea is that speech is a form of action.

  • Then I notice the whole second half of the speech is completely different.

  • Think about what specific acts of speech are doing.

  • You know, my brother is a speech therapist.

  • The Republican tradition emphasizes ensuring access to a robust speech environment to meet its autonomy goal.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In her speech, she shared her personal story to motivate others to follow their dreams.

Synonyms

talk
vsspeech
∞ 1.0

A discussion where people share ideas or feelings

is the overall ability to express thoughts and feelings by spoken words
speaking
vsspeech
83 1.0

The act of talking to other people, for example giving a speech

is the general ability to express thoughts and feelings by spoken words
2 3.0

Talking to share information, often by phone or radio

is about ability to express thoughts and feelings, not just the channel used
2 3.2

To talk to share ideas or information with others

is the ability to express thoughts and feelings, not only information exchange
1 3.3

Sharing ideas and information by speaking to others

is about expressing personal thoughts and feelings rather than formal information
1 2.9

Talking to share information or ideas

is the personal ability to express thoughts and feelings rather than mere exchange

Antonyms

373 2.0

A period with no sound or speech

1 6.8

Not speaking because someone cannot or chooses not to speak

Idioms

Not speaking is often better than saying things you do not need to say

Compounds

free speech
  • Formal
177 3.2

The right to say what you think in public without the government stopping you

95 2.7

The right to say what you think without fear of government punishment

hate speech
  • Offensive
31 5.1

Speech that attacks a group and encourages others to harm or treat them unfairly, like race, religion, gender

Words used to mean something different to create a strong picture

stump speech
  • Literature
15 6.5

A talk a politician gives many times during a campaign about their main plans

Help for people who find talking difficult so others can understand them

A way of speaking that a person often uses, shown by accent or rhythm

A person who helps people who have trouble speaking or using words

A main talk at a meeting that gives the event's main idea

3 3.5

The last talk a person gives before leaving a job or event

A talk that makes people feel brave and ready to act

part of speech
  • Specialized
2 3.5

A class of words like noun, verb, or adjective

A sincere spoken message that shows deep feeling

speech disorder
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A condition that makes it hard to say sounds correctly or use the voice well

Sharing ideas and information by speaking to others

speech act
  • Specialized
1 7.4

Words that you say to do something, like asking or promising

1 6.9

A speech at a political meeting that officially proposes someone as a candidate

speech defect
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Difficulty speaking clearly that makes others hard to understand

1 3.4

A school event when people give speeches and students get prizes

A rounded shape in comics that shows what a character says or thinks

speech sound
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A single sound that people make when they talk

speech synthesizer
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A device or program that makes a voice like a human

speech community
  • Specialized
1 5.5

People who use the same language or dialect and follow the same rules for talking

speech perception
  • Specialized
1 5.3

The way the brain hears and understands spoken words

incendiary speech
  • Literature
1 8.7

A speech that makes people very angry or causes unrest

speech production
  • Specialized
1 4.4

The way a person makes clear spoken words other people can understand

A round shape in a comic that shows what a character says

speech organ
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A body part like the tongue or lips that makes speech sounds

1 6.7

How well people understand spoken words when there is background noise or bad sound

speech rhythm
  • Specialized
1 3.7

The pattern of strong and weak syllables that makes speech flow

A body part like the tongue or lips used to make sounds for talking

Speech that is hard to follow because the ideas do not connect

part-of-speech tagger
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A computer program that labels each word as a noun, verb, or adjective

speech spectrum
  • Specialized
1 5.2

The range of high and low sounds in a person's voice

1 9.6

Rich loud speaking that sounds grand and a little showy

feature of speech
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A part of how we speak that helps show the difference between words or sounds

non-standard speech
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A way of speaking that differs from the usual form used by local native adults

defect of speech
  • Specialized
5.9

A problem that makes someone speak unclearly or have trouble saying words

A strong speech that makes people feel excited or amazed

7.8

A smooth, sweet way of speaking that sounds pleasant to hear

phatic speech
  • Specialized
8.8

Words used to start or keep a friendly talk, not to give information

Words you hear from people talking nearby on the phone

visible speech
  • Specialized
8.6

A picture that shows speech sounds over time

visible speech
  • Archaic
9.9

A set of written signs that shows how to make speech sounds with the mouth

9.5

A very impressive talk that makes people want to act

How Clear

eloquence
19 6.1
speech
539 1.0
mumbling
3 3.6

Surface Forms

speech singular
speeches plural

Etymology

Speech comes from the same old root as speak, which meant 'to say words', so it originally named the simple act or ability of saying things aloud.