declamation

American  

[dek-luh-mey-shuhn] / ˌdɛk ləˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or art of declaiming.

2. exercise in oratory or elocution, as in the recitation of a classic speech.

3. speech or writing for oratorical effect.

4. Music. the proper enunciation of the words, as in recitative.

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declamation British  

/ ˌdɛkləˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. a rhetorical or emotional speech, made esp in order to protest or condemn; tirade

2. a speech, verse, etc, that is or can be spoken

3. the act or art of declaiming

4. music the artistry or technique involved in singing recitative passages

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Etymology

Origin of declamation

1350–1400; < Latin dēclāmātiōn- (stem of dēclāmātiō ), equivalent to dēclāmāt ( us ) (past participle of dēclāmāre to declaim; -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A declamation is a long, impassioned speech. Your heartfelt declamation to the school board about the quality of food in your school cafeteria may inspire the addition of a salad bar. Like a tirade or a rant, a declamation has a lot of strong feelings behind it. There's more formality to a declamation, though — imagine a heartfelt and fiery response on a debate stage. The original 14th century definition was "a composition written to be declaimed," or delivered with passion and rhetoric.

Example Sentences

Previous Lincoln scholars have treated the Lyceum Speech more as an outburst than an oration, at best the overwrought declamation of a gifted tyro.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

He stretched language and banality to operatic extremes, exalting discarded bits of life as if they were cosmic, in stylized declamation that is every bit as musical as Mozart.

From New York Times • May 10, 2024

The opening credits of “Chariots of Fire” roll as a bunch of young runners progress in slow motion across a glum beach in Scotland, as a lazy, beat-backed tune rises to a magisterial declamation.

From Washington Times • May 19, 2022

Writing on the Observer website, James Jorden called him “impressive” and said “he demonstrated absolute security in the part’s heavy declamation and a smooth legato in the character’s love scenes.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2019

After the long, torchlit approach, walking straight into the gaze of the snarling deity, mysterious bellows reverberating off the stone, the oracular declamation from above must have been spine-chilling.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann