declaim

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To object to something vociferously; to rail against in speech.
  2. To recite, e.g., poetry, in a theatrical way; to speak for rhetorical display; to speak pompously, noisily, or theatrically; bemouth; to make an empty speech; to rehearse trite arguments in debate; to rant.
  3. To speak rhetorically; to make a formal speech or oration; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking.
  4. To disclaim, disavow.

Pronunciation

/dɪˈkleɪm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-declaim.wav

Word forms

declaim declaims declaiming declaimed

Etymology

From Middle French declamer, from Latin dēclāmō.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.