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SPEAKING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The utterance of intelligible speech
Synonyms:
speaking; speech production
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("speaking" is a kind of...):
utterance; vocalization (the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "speaking"):
speech (the exchange of spoken words)
susurration; voicelessness; whisper; whispering (speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords)
Derivation:
speak (express in speech)
speak (use language)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Delivering an address to a public audience
Example:
people came to see the candidates and hear the speechmaking
Synonyms:
oral presentation; public speaking; speaking; speechmaking
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("speaking" is a kind of...):
address; speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "speaking"):
reading; recital; recitation (a public instance of reciting or repeating (from memory) something prepared in advance)
debate; disputation; public debate (the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote))
Derivation:
speak (give a speech to)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Capable of or involving speech or speaking
Example:
a speaking part in the play
Classified under:
Similar:
tongued (having a manner of speaking as specified; often used in combination)
Antonym:
nonspeaking (not capable of or especially not involving speech or spoken lines)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb speak
Context examples:
The being finished speaking and fixed his looks upon me in the expectation of a reply.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
I wonder if he read that notion in my face; for, all at once, without speaking, he struck suddenly and strongly.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
This full moon of March 9 will be speaking directly to Mars, the action planet, now based in your ninth house of travel.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
But what do YOU want? he continued, speaking to Toto.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Her father and Lady Dalrymple were speaking.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
People may not recognize family members or have trouble speaking, reading or writing.
(Alzheimer's Disease, NIH: National Institute on Aging)
A question about an individual's difficulty speaking at its worst.
(Difficulty Speaking at its Worst, NCI Thesaurus)
They dropped their voices, but Amy knew they were speaking of her, hearing one side of the story and judging accordingly.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Nothing further was said for a few minutes; and then speaking through her tears, she added, “I do not think I shall ever wish for a letter again!”
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Miss Harrison, said Holmes, speaking with the utmost intensity of manner, you must stay where you are all day.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
