speech

noun

ˈspēch How to pronounce speech (audio)
Definition of speechnext
1
as in lecture
a usually formal discourse delivered to an audience the guest of honor gave a short speech in appreciation of the award

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of speech During a half-hour speech, von Furstenberg reflected on major career milestones, like her first meeting with Diana Vreeland in 1970 and later being featured on the March 1976 cover of Newsweek in her innovative wrap dress. — Ariel Bielsky, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026 Trump spent a bit of his roughly 90-minute speech boosting the candidates, mostly by attacking their Democratic opponents. — Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026 In a nervy, shy, 15-second speech, Doncic also unofficially introduced a new era of himself. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 Julianne Moore delivered a moving speech at her son Caleb’s wedding to Kibriyaá Morgan. — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for speech
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speech
  1. lecture
  2. language
  3. talk
  4. vocabulary
  5. address
  6. tongue
  7. oration
  8. dialect
Noun
  • Nearly all of their rituals are rooted in female submission, expressed without words to keep the film from feeling like a lecture.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Biographers of Berryman, including Eileen, tend to record the Shakespeare lecture as a turning point of sorts for the American poet.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of lecture
Noun
  • Axios Business Editor Dan Primack said Anthropic's S-1 filing marked a shift in the company's language towards using public markets to finance compute spending.
    — Ashley Capoot,Jordan Novet,Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny,Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The vulnerability, called P2PShell, impacts a coding language that powers 70% of the world’s websites, enabling hackers to remotely execute code or gain access to information stored on servers.
    — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of language
Noun
  • The four countries agreed Monday to continue talks on expanding cooperation among them, particularly about regional peace and security, a statement said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Those talks collapsed over price and worries about antitrust pushback, neither of which hold true today.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of talk
Noun
  • Clean, high quality neutral linens do more work than almost any other upgrade, borrowing from the vocabulary of luxury interior design without the price tag.
    — Lauren Schuster, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Name what is happening and create a common vocabulary for the ecosystem.
    — Bob Pearson, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of vocabulary
Noun
  • Out of the 20,000 names on the list, only 7,035 had addresses in Los Angeles County and some were duplicates, according to a separate Tuesday court filing by Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan.
    — Miles Parks, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Those searches disclosed West’s address, date of birth, Social Security number and other information, according to the filing.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of address
Noun
  • Orange graces the sneaker almost entirely uninterrupted through the upper to the translucent midsole, but blue is used for the tongue’s Kobe Sheath logo and the heel Swoosh.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The living room features wide-plank wood floors, tongue-and-groove wood ceilings, a stone fireplace, and a glass wall; the kitchen includes an oversized quartzite island; and a guest suite has a Japanese soaking tub.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of tongue
Noun
  • The grieving sibling held nothing back in his fiery funeral oration.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Afterward, the orations turned to internal divisions, particularly those related to slavery.
    — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 1 July 2026
Definition of oration
Noun
  • The reality, of course, is that the Southern accent is not some incorrect version of a national standard but instead a historically separate and unique dialect – or, more accurately, set of dialects.
    — Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The conflicts are raw and unresolved, and Churchill forces theatergoers to make up their own minds about the characters’ furious dialect.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of dialect

Phrases Containing speech

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sped (up)
speech
speeches
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Cite this Entry

“Speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speech. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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