speak synonyms

speak

v.

  1. To utter

    vocalize, pronounce, express; see utter.

  2. To communicate

    talk, converse, discourse, articulate, chat; see also talk 1.

  3. To deliver a speech

    lecture, declaim, deliver; see address 2.

speak and talk are generally synonymous, but speak often connotes formal address to an auditor or audience who will speak at the dinner? and talk often suggests informal colloquial conversation we were talking at dinner; converse suggests a talking together by two or more people so as to exchange ideas and information the leaders of both countries met to converse for several hours; discourse suggests a somewhat formal, detailed, extensive talking to another or others she was discoursing to us on Keats

so to speak

that is to say, as it were; in a manner of speaking, as the saying goes*; see accordingly.

to speak of

somewhat, a little, not much, worthy of mention; see some.

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.