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Presentation and Public Speaking Words

Vocabulary for stronger clarity, pacing, and audience engagement in spoken delivery.

Speech

//spiːt͡ʃ// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate. uncountable

    "He had a bad speech impediment."

  2. 2
    the mental faculty or power of vocal communication wordnet
  3. 3
    The act of speaking, a certain style of it. uncountable

    "It was hard to hear his speech over the noise."

  4. 4
    a lengthy rebuke wordnet
  5. 5
    A formal session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person. countable

    "The candidate made some ambitious promises in his campaign speech."

Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    words making up the dialogue of a play wordnet
  2. 7
    A dialect, vernacular, or (dated) a language. countable

    "For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech, and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel."

  3. 8
    your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally wordnet
  4. 9
    Language used orally, rather than in writing. uncountable

    "This word is mostly used in speech."

  5. 10
    (language) communication by word of mouth wordnet
  6. 11
    An utterance that is quoted; see direct speech, reported speech countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    the exchange of spoken words wordnet
  8. 13
    Public talk, news, gossip, rumour. uncountable

    "The duke[…]did of me demand / What was the speech among the Londoners / Concerning the French journey."

  9. 14
    something spoken wordnet
  10. 15
    the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make a speech; to harangue. intransitive, transitive

    "I'll speech against peace while Dismal's my name, / And be a true whig, while I'm Not-in-game."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Sprache (“language, speech”). More at speak.

Etymology 2

From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Sprache (“language, speech”). More at speak.

See also for "speech"

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