vociferate

American  

[voh-sif-uh-rayt] / voʊˈsɪf əˌreɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

vociferated, vociferating

1. to speak or cry out loudly or noisily; shout; bawl.

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vociferate British  

/ vəʊˈsɪfəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to exclaim or cry out about (something) clamorously, vehemently, or insistently

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Other Word Forms

• vociferation
  noun
• vociferator
  noun
• outvociferate
  verb (used with object)

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Etymology

Origin of vociferate

1590–1600; < Latin vōciferātus (past participle of vōciferāri to shout), equivalent to vōci-, stem of vōx voice + fer ( re ) to bear ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

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Explanation

To vociferate is to shout, wail, or yell loudly and vehemently. People vociferate when they want to be heard. Vociferating is a fancy word for shouting. During a chase, a police officer might vociferate, "Stop!" In sports, coaches are often seen vociferating at referees to protest a bad call. While parents might vociferate when a child is in danger or misbehaving, the word implies a loud, forceful outcry rather than just talking loudly. Because it involves being loud and making a scene, you should never vociferate in a quiet place like a library or a theater — unless there's an emergency.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vociferate vociferated vociferating

These bronze rowdies whoop and vociferate on all sides.

From Time Magazine Archive

I'll vociferate, I'll whimper, pacing up and down the garden, my body distended, my legs bent outward, feigning madness to terrify the tom-cats!

From Barks and Purrs by Colette

My astonishment and dismay were unbounded at hearing Captain Reud still vociferate, “Up higher, sir.”

From Rattlin the Reefer by Frederick Marryat

Several, when they saw us, came forward, and began to shake their spears and vociferate loudly.

From In the Wilds of Africa by Alfred Pearse

"It was, it was," cried the girl as loud as she could vociferate: "it was Maurice threw me down from the top of the press."

From Tales and Novels — Volume 06 by Maria Edgeworth

The story you have told," Senator Norris vociferated, "is a falsehood.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week Asquithians and Georgians vociferated over an issue of molehill stature which they erected into a Liberal mountain.

From Time Magazine Archive

Now another bellower cupped his hands, vociferated: "Long cheer for Pound!"

From Time Magazine Archive

“The King—the King!” vociferated the half hundred voices of their followers—the bystanders echoing the phrase only in faint murmuring.

From The White Gauntlet by Mayne Reid

Hollo!" vociferated Johnstone, in a loud and harsh tone of voice—"hollo! brother brush-the-heather, what have we here?

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. XX by Alexander Leighton

Not until last week did George Moore know the crude, earthy, tangible joy of having written a play which London proceeded to applaud, not merely from the lordly stalls but from the common, vociferating gallery.

From Time Magazine Archive

I ran through the rooms, still vociferating, and still mocked by the echo of my own voice.

From Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution (Volume I) by Augustus F. Lindley

Next moment, and, without even staying to make reply to the communication which the messenger had made, he rushed on towards the gate of the courtyard, loudly vociferating, “To horse—every man to horse!”

From The White Gauntlet by Mayne Reid

It is impossible that London can ever again see a man bent beneath the weight of a yoke and two enormous pails, vociferating "New River Water."

From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Charles Knight

Then, casting a mild and melancholy glance at the exasperated crowd, she said to La Louve, who persisted in vociferating, "Will you dare to call us cowards again?"

From The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6 by Eugène Sue

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