Soliloquy

//səˈlɪləkwi// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience. countable, uncountable

    "At the end of the second act the main villain gave a soliloquy detailing his plans to attack the protagonist."

  2. 2
    a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections wordnet
  3. 3
    A speech or written discourse in this form. countable, uncountable

    "The feeling of Singleton's bosom grew heightened in its tone of melancholy, and a more passionate emphasis of thought broke forth in his half-muttered soliloquy:— ¶"How I remember as I look […]"

  4. 4
    speech you make to yourself wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To issue a soliloquy. rare

Synonyms

All synonyms
monologueasidemonologuesoliloquizesoliloquizesolo

Example

More examples

"At this moment his soliloquy was interrupted by a grasshopper, which, in springing from a swallow that pursued it, fell into Chloe's bosom."

Etymology

1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“I speak”).

Related phrases

stage whisper

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.