declaim

[ dih-kleym ]

/ dɪˈkleɪm /

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See 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.

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Origin of declaim

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

OTHER WORDS FROM declaim

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH declaim

declaim , disclaim

Words nearby declaim

deck shoe, deck tennis, “Deck the Halls”, deck watch, decl., declaim, declamation, declamatory, declarant, declaration, Declaration of Independence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use declaim in a sentence

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
Their speeches were not so long, and they did not declaim so vehemently.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers|Jules Verne
It was her hobby to declaim against the popular idea of the existence of the human spirit apart from the body.
Personal Recollections of Pardee Butler|Pardee Butler
He may as usefully declaim against friendship, comradeship, the love of man for woman or of mother for child.
America To-day, Observations and Reflections|William Archer
Without this pivotal action, the reader is apt to declaim a monologue, and confuse it with a speech.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue|S. S. Curry
The same servant would declaim, with the quaintest, semi-tragical gestures, Pinens rle in Boris-Gudunov.
The Duel|A. I. Kuprin

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 of declaim

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

declaim

Origin of declaim

OTHER WORDS FROM declaim

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH declaim

Words nearby declaim

Words related to declaim

How to use declaim in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for declaim

Derived forms of declaim

Word Origin for declaim