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declaim

 - 2 dictionary results

de⋅claim

  [di-kleym]
Use declaim in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to speak aloud in an oratorical manner; make a formal speech: Brutus declaimed from the steps of the Roman senate building.
2. to inveigh (usually fol. by against): He declaimed against the high rents in slums.
3. to speak or write for oratorical effect, as without sincerity or sound argument.
–verb (used with object)
4. to utter aloud in an oratorical manner: to declaim a speech.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME declamen < L dēclāmāre, equiv. to dē- de- + clāmāre to cry, shout; see claim

Related forms:
de⋅claim⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To declaim
de·claim   (dĭ-klām')   
v.   de·claimed, de·claim·ing, de·claims

v.   intr.

  1. To deliver a formal recitation, especially as an exercise in rhetoric or elocution.

  2. To speak loudly and vehemently; inveigh.

v.   tr.
To utter or recite with rhetorical effect.

[Middle English declamen, from Latin dēclāmāre : dē-, intensive pref.; see de- + clāmāre, to cry out; see kelə-2 in Indo-European roots.]
de·claim'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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