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Synonyms

speechify

American  
[spee-chuh-fahy] / ˈspi tʃəˌfaɪ /

verb (used without object)

speechified, speechifying
  1. to make a speech or speeches; harangue.


speechify British  
/ ˈspiːtʃɪˌfaɪ /

verb

  1. to make a speech or speeches

  2. to talk pompously and boringly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of speechify

First recorded in 1715–25; speech + -ify


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

While political theater, as a genre, has a tendency to speechify about sociopolitical issues from the safety of the stage, Rau at least gets up close to his subjects.

From New York Times ● May 15, 2023

That’s less the case in the equally unproductive covid-era, where the co-hosts, broadcasting from their homes, are now given minute-long soapboxes to speechify on the issue du jour.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2021

Like all serious candidates, Cruz had come to Des Moines to speechify and work the crowd in hopes of eventually getting to the White House.

From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2015

Who outside of Aaron Sorkin’s world stops in the middle of their office full of people who work for a union to speechify about the importance of unions?

From Time ● Sep. 27, 2012

We soon learned that meant he was about to speechify us.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Pöysti’s inquisitive gaze and faint smile tell us more about Ansa’s strong-willed persona than any speechified backstory could.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

In 2006, they steered McCain to attend a dinner with the oligarch at a chalet near Davos, where Deripaska speechified for the 40 or so guests.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2016

There was a time when lawmakers really meant it when they speechified about education being an investment in the nation’s future.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 15, 2016

But as the dignitaries speechified, biologists were discovering the creosote-bush-studded landscape was crawling with some uninvited guests: desert tortoises.

From Forbes ● Jun. 8, 2011

He speechified just in the way you used to say he did at Christ Church to all the ladies in rotation.

From The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope — Volume 1 by A. M. W. Stirling

Indeed, Trina’s shorthand invocation of “the system” may say more about her fondness for speechifying than about Gia’s specific circumstances.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2023

After his Woodland Park appearance, plus a downtown parade and reception at Volunteer Park, his major speechifying ended at the UW.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023

She's fine with Edgin acting as the squad's leader, the guy whose main weapons are a lute and speechifying.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023

She’s fine with Edgin acting as the squad’s leader, the guy whose main weapons are a lute and speechifying.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023

Beside him, Jules sipped her drink and rolled her eyes at his speechifying.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

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