declaim

English

Etymology

From Middle French declamer, from Latin dēclāmō.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈkleɪm/

Verb

declaim (third-person singular simple present declaims, present participle declaiming, simple past and past participle declaimed)

1. To object to something vociferously; to rail against in speech.
2. To recite, e.g., poetry, in a theatrical way; to speak for rhetorical display; to speak pompously, noisily, or theatrically; bemouth; to make an empty speech; to rehearse trite arguments in debate; to rant.
   • Bancroft

     Grenville seized the opportunity to declaim on the repeal of the stamp act.

3. To speak rhetorically; to make a formal speech or oration; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking.

   The students declaim twice a week.

Related terms

► English terms derived from the PIE root *kelh₁-‎ (0 c, 27 e)

Translations

to object vociferously

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 慷慨陈词

• Finnish: protestoida (fi)
• Spanish: declamar (es)

to recite in theatrical way

• Bulgarian: декламирам (bg) (deklamiram), рецитирам (recitiram)
• Dutch: declameren (nl)
• Finnish: deklamoida
• French: déclamer (fr), scander (fr), réciter (fr)

• Japanese: 詠唱する
• Korean: 읊다 (ko) (eupda)
• Russian: деклами́ровать (ru) impf (deklamírovatʹ)
• Spanish: declamar (es)

to recite as rhetorical exercise

• Finnish: deklamoida

Anagrams

• camelid, claimed, decimal, medical