speech
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speech (spēc̸h)
noun
- the act of speaking; expression or communication of thoughts and feelings by spoken words
- the power or ability to speak
- the manner of speaking her lisping speech
- that which is spoken; utterance, remark, statement, talk, conversation, etc.
- a talk or address given to an audience
- the language used by a certain group of people; dialect or tongue
- the study of the theory and practice of oral expression and communication
- Archaic rumor; report
Etymology: ME speche < OE spæc, spræc < base of sprecan, to speak: see speak
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
speech
n.
Language
tongue, mother tongue, native tongue; see language 1.The power of audible expression
talk, utterance, discourse, conversation, articulation, oral expression, diction, pronunciation, expression, locution, vocalization, enunciation, palaver, communication, prattle, parlance, intercourse, chatter. An address
lecture, discourse, oration, address, disquisition, harangue, oratory, sermon, dissertation, homily, recitation, prelection, allocation, talk, rhetoric, tirade, panegyric, bombast, diatribe, exhortation, eulogy, commentary, declamation, appeal, invocation, salutation, travelogue, valedictory, paper, stump, keynote address, political speech, speechification*, elocuting*, opus*, pep talk*, spiel*; see also communication 2.
speech is the general word for a discourse delivered to an audience, whether prepared or impromptu; address implies a formal, carefully prepared speech and usually attributes importance to the speaker or the speech an address to a legislature; oration suggests an eloquent, rhetorical, sometimes merely bombastic speech, esp. one delivered on some special occasion political orations; a lecture is a carefully prepared speech intended to inform or instruct the audience a lecture to a college class; talk suggests informality and is applied either to an impromptu speech or to an address or lecture in which the speaker deliberately uses a simple, conversational approach; a sermon is a speech by a clergyman intended to give religious or moral instruction and usually based on Scriptural text
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Converse of object
- slur: It starts to affect sufferers between 30 and 55 years old and causes sudden movements, slurred speech and memory lapses.
Adjective modifier
- maiden: In her maiden speech, she advocated bringing down the voting age of women to twenty-one.
Modifies a noun
- recognition: Also speech data gathered during the field trial was analyzed to give speech recognition accuracy.
Noun used with modifier
- keynote: At this historic launch Mrs Rosemary Kennedy, Chief Nursing Officer for Wales, will make a keynote speech to launch the Academy.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
As the character is, such is the speech.
Nature, as we say, does nothing without some purpose; and for thepurpose of making mana political animal she has endowed him alone among the animals with the power of reasoned speech.
And thou, who didst the stars and sunbeams know, Self-schooled, self-scanned, self-honoured, self-secure, Didst tread on Earth unguessed at.öBetter so! All pains the immortal spirit must endure, All weakness which impairs, all griefs which bow, Find their sole speech in that victorious brow. Arnold
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"speech." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/speech>
APA Style
speech. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/speech
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