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View synonyms for soliloquy

soliloquy

[ suh-lil-uh-kwee ]

noun

, plural so·lil·o·quies.
  1. an utterance or discourse spoken to oneself, without regard for whether any other hearers are present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts):

    Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.”

  2. the act of talking while or as if alone.


soliloquy

/ səˈlɪləkwɪ /

noun

  1. the act of speaking alone or to oneself, esp as a theatrical device
  2. a speech in a play that is spoken in soliloquy

    Hamlet's first soliloquy



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Usage

Soliloquy is sometimes wrongly used where monologue is meant. Both words refer to a long speech by one person, but a monologue can be addressed to other people, whereas in a soliloquy the speaker is always talking to himself or herself

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Word History and Origins

Origin of soliloquy1

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Latin sōliloquium “a talking to oneself, soliloquy,” equivalent to sōli- soli- 1 + loqu(ī) “to speak” + -ium -ium; -y 3

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Word History and Origins

Origin of soliloquy1

C17: via Late Latin sōliloquium, from Latin sōlus sole + loquī to speak

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Example Sentences

The film opens on a tumbleweed blowing through the twilight streets of Los Angeles and closes with a cowboy soliloquy.

After his Green Eggs and Ham soliloquy, sanity left the building and a shutdown was almost inevitable.

Biden launched into a soliloquy in praise of double-barrel shotguns.

Biden began with a message for anybody who believes that Romney had “just made a mistake” when he made “that little soliloquy.”

In a tearful statement, he launched into a soliloquy about seeing himself free again playing with children, balloons, and dogs.

It seemed that whatever conversation there was going to be would have to take the form of a soliloquy from Clowes.

His language was faultless, his word selections beautiful, his soliloquy impressive beyond description.

A loud cry of a different kind here interrupted his soliloquy, and soon after the first cry was repeated louder than before.

As De Courval caught bits of the soliloquy under his window, he thought of his mother's wonder at this new and surprising country.

Then again there is the clue of Skakspere's use of the word "consummation" in the revised form of the "To be" soliloquy.

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soliloquizeSoliman