vehement
[vee-uh-muh nt]
- zealous; ardent; impassioned: a vehement defense; vehement enthusiasm.
- characterized by rancor or anger; violent: vehement hostility.
- strongly emotional; intense or passionate: vehement desire.
- marked by great energy or exertion; strenuous: vehement clapping.
Origin of vehement
1475–85; < Latin vehement-, stem of vehemēns, vēmēns violent, forceful (of uncertain derivation)
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. earnest, fervent, fervid. 2. burning, fiery.
Antonyms
1, 2. dispassionate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for vehement
Contemporary Examples
My vehement dislike for the accoutrement stems back to 1982 when I was asked to wear pink roses in my hair to a family wedding.
The ire Friedberg and Seltzer have drawn from crowds is both boisterous and vehement–Airplane!
Seth MacFarlane’s ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ Is Yet Another Failed SpoofAlex Suskind
May 29, 2014
Our vehement prejudices leave us no patience for his appeal to radical humanism.
Even proposing to shift funding for entitlements from payroll to consumption based taxes meets vehement opposition.
By now there are many hundreds of these tweets, varying from vehement to vituperative, from accusatory to abusive.
Historical Examples
This outburst from Mrs. Porter startled the girl; it was so passionate, so vehement.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
Vehement cheers from the ministerial benches; cries of "Order!"
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
He started from his revery with a vehement gesture, and groaned audibly.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
Mr Flintwinch had pulled him into his coat with vehement energy.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
Then began a contention the most vehement that ever I had with woman.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
vehement
- marked by intensity of feeling or conviction; emphatic
- (of actions, gestures, etc) characterized by great energy, vigour, or force; furious
Word Origin
C15: from Latin vehemēns ardent; related to vehere to carry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for vehement
adj.
late 15c., from Middle French vehement "impetuous, ardent," from Latin vehementem (nominative vehemens) "impetuous, carried away," perhaps from a lost present middle participle of vehere "to carry" (see vehicle). The other theory is that it represents vehe- "lacking, wanting" + mens "mind." Related: Vehemently.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper