1
as in talk
a usually formal discourse delivered to an audience
the guest of honor gave a short speech in appreciation of the award
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in language
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
wanting to develop a writing system for his people, Sequoya created a system of 86 symbols representing all the syllables of Cherokee speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of speech
Longworth’s commentary was published a day after the anniversary of a speech delivered by a truly great man, Frederick Douglass.
—
Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2025
Over the years, JWoww has spoken up about Greyson’s autism diagnosis, sharing advice and celebrating his wins, like reading and speech improvement.
—Beth Sobol, People.com, 7 July 2025
Antisemitism has taken on a new mechanism: the deliberate failure to defend the rights of Jews by groups that properly speak out against attempts to suppress the rights — speech, academic freedom and assembly — of African-Americans, gays, transgender people and other minorities.
—Alan M. Dershowitz, New York Daily News, 6 July 2025
Thomas applied O’Brien to the Texas law, even though the Texas statute is aimed at restricting speech, not conduct.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for speech
Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2025
Over the years, JWoww has spoken up about Greyson’s autism diagnosis, sharing advice and celebrating his wins, like reading and speech improvement.
—Beth Sobol, People.com, 7 July 2025
Antisemitism has taken on a new mechanism: the deliberate failure to defend the rights of Jews by groups that properly speak out against attempts to suppress the rights — speech, academic freedom and assembly — of African-Americans, gays, transgender people and other minorities.
—Alan M. Dershowitz, New York Daily News, 6 July 2025
Thomas applied O’Brien to the Texas law, even though the Texas statute is aimed at restricting speech, not conduct.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for speech
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speech
Noun
-
Mozeliak has started to gauge the interest of a handful of contending teams, though the talks are described as preliminary.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
-
Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul yield little progress Russia and Ukraine held brief peace talks, but the warring countries remain far apart with little progress made.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
25 July 2025
Noun
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But their language echoes the same arguments about unfair trade, deficits and national security that Trump invoked during his reciprocal tariff rollout.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
26 July 2025
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English is widely spoken across Puerto Rico, but travelers should keep in mind that Spanish is the island's universal language.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
26 July 2025
Noun
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Three days of readings, a lecture, musical performances and even a children’s version of the running of the bulls are planned for the Hemingway Birthday Weekend, July 18-20 in Oak Park.—
Myrna Petlicki,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
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Generally, all expedition cruise operators include many of the activities – with some available for an extra charge – most meals and beverages, onboard lectures, Citizen Science activities, and select gear such as parkas, per Maguire.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
There’s almost a template to the Lexington format and a distinctive vocabulary too.—
Robert F. Moss,
Southern Living,
23 July 2025
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So, in the case of La Tête d’Or, [chef] Daniel [Boulud] had this ambition to create something that was kind of a grand New York steakhouse but with a French influence, which led to a more refined vocabulary, and that led to wanting to elevate the cooking to be on display.—
Sofia Perez,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Noun
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We, in collaboration with our partners, store and/or access information on a user's device, including but not limited to IP addresses, unique identifiers, and browsing data stored in cookies, in order to process personal data.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
22 July 2025
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Epstein is listed as the vice president of SAM on the deed, and four years later, in 1992, SAM transferred the property to a trust where Epstein was the trustee, also registered at the same Columbus address.—
Giacomo Tognini,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Noun
-
Weeks passed, and the bump remained, despite the tongue’s tendency to heal quickly.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
13 July 2025
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Michigan customers can enjoy free small Slurpees throughout the day, and Speedway Rewards members can even get a special tongue tattoo with your Slurpee in Detroit.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
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But Churchill did more than compose and deliver memorable orations.—
Robert Schmuhl,
Chicago Tribune,
20 July 2025
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The assembly descended into a frenzy of oration denouncing the patenting of viruses, even though the issue, however ethically dubious, was entirely irrelevant to the actual course of the virus’ spread inside Saudi Arabia, which the kingdom’s scientists had done little to counter.—
Laurie Garrett,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Aug. 2015
Noun
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In it, Italian peasants Matteo and Natale discuss this same cosmic occurrence in the rustic Paduan dialect of the time.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
3 July 2025
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Around the table, his family speak the local dialect of the Veneto region.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speech. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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