declaim

[ dih-kleym ]

/ dɪˈkleɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR declaim ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to speak aloud in an oratorical manner; make a formal speech: Brutus declaimed from the steps of the Roman senate building.

to inveigh (usually followed by against): He declaimed against the high rents in slums.

to speak or write for oratorical effect, as without sincerity or sound argument.

verb (used with object)

to utter aloud in an oratorical manner: to declaim a speech.

Nearby words

decking, deckle, deckle edge, deckle-edged, decl., declaim, declamation, declamatory, declamping phenomenon, declarant, declaration

Origin of declaim

1350–1400; Middle English declamen < Latin dēclāmāre, equivalent to dē- de- + clāmāre to cry, shout; see claim

Related forms

de·claim·er, nounun·de·claimed, adjectiveun·de·claim·ing, adjective

Can be confused

declaim disclaim

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for declaim

It was demanded of psychologists that they declaim on all that screaming and its meaning.
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Why Adults Dismissed The Beatles in 1964|Michael Tomasky|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's what is ongoing and visible, so it's the part that people get to judge and assess and gossip about and declaim on.
On Syria, the Public, Process, and Results|Michael Tomasky|September 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The word Qur’ān means recitation, coming from the root q-r-‘, which means primarily to recite or declaim and then to read.
Mohammad Was Not a Womanizer, and Other Common Misconceptions About Islam Debunked|Olga M. Davidson|September 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Experts and negotiators will declaim over the bowl full of details in Obama's Thursday speech.
Obama's Historic Mideast Gamble|Leslie H. Gelb|May 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Yes, dissent is patriotic, as liberals love to declaim, but assent is an important part of patriotism too.
Elena Kagan's Achilles' Heel|Peter Beinart|April 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
She could read and declaim, but spelling was quite beyond her, and her attempts at it made a titter through the room.
A Little Girl in Old New York|Amanda Millie Douglas
Why should President Harding declaim against them so persistently?
Behind the Mirrors|Clinton W. Gilbert
Perceiving how matters stood, the friar straight lifted up his hands, and continued to declaim in a still more fervent stile.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 2 (of 3)|James Hogg
Two students were selected to "declaim" the question and two to "argue" it.
The Life of John Marshall (Volume 1 of 4)|Albert J. Beveridge
I am confident that it much resembles the place where Cicero sometimes went to declaim.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13|Elbert Hubbard

British Dictionary definitions for declaim

declaim

/ (dɪˈkleɪm) /

verb

to make (a speech, statement, etc) loudly and in a rhetorical manner

to speak lines from (a play, poem, etc) with studied eloquence; recite

(intr foll by against) to protest (against) loudly and publicly

Derived Forms

declaimer, noun

Word Origin for declaim

C14: from Latin dēclāmāre, from clāmāre to call out

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