direct speech

British

noun

the reporting of what someone has said or written by quoting his exact words

"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

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.

As Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, put it in a remarkably direct speech at Davos, the U.S.-led world order is a thing of the past; it has been ruptured.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026

Broadcaster Eamonn Holmes said: "He made direct speech entertaining. With that he was ahead of his time. I'm just sorry he hasn't had more time."

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

This remained true even when participants were told to direct their attention toward a silent film and ignore the story, suggesting that top-down attention isn't required to mentally separate direct speech and its echo.

From Science Daily • Feb. 15, 2024

Belafonte never makes a direct speech about injustice.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2023

If “Abt Vogler” be started as a soliloquy, it must not be turned into a speech to an audience, nor even into a direct speech to one individual.

From Browning and the Dramatic Monologue by Curry, S. S. (Samuel Silas)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023