vehement

adjective

ve·​he·​ment ˈvē-ə-mənt 

: marked by forceful energy : powerful

a vehement wind

: such as

a

: intensely emotional : impassioned, fervid

vehement patriotism

b(1)

: deeply felt

a vehement suspicion

(2)

: forcibly expressed

vehement denunciations

c

: bitterly antagonistic

a vehement debate

vehemently adverb

Synonyms

• aggressive
• assertive
• dynamic
• emphatic
• energetic
• forceful
• full-blooded
• muscular
• resounding
• strenuous
• vigorous
• violent

Examples of vehement in a Sentence

Cranes rise above the old rooftops, adding new office towers and new condominiums and new malls to a city where Jonathan Swift once issued his vehement bulletins. —Pete Hamill, Gourmet, April 2007

As they shouted and mocked, I wondered how they could have developed such intense, vehement hatred toward people with whom they had had no previous contact. —Todd Hechtman, The News/Sun-Sentinel, 1 Feb. 1987

He cursed himself like a less scrupulous Job, as a vehement man will do when he loses self-respect, the last mental prop under poverty. —Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886

Both the ladies indulged in vehement screaming for several minutes; and Mr. Cymon Tuggs, besides sustaining intense bodily pain, had the additional mental anguish of witnessing their distressing situation, without having the power to rescue them, by reason of his leg being firmly screwed in between the animal and the wall. —Charles Dickens, Sketches by "Boz", 1836

He issued a vehement denial of the accusation.

The proposal has faced vehement opposition from many teachers.

She was vehement about the need for new safety measures.

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite vehement denials by Beijing, Chinese industrial policy has for decades led to recurring cycles of overcapacity. —Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2024

The vehement argument against busing could have given way to working out a system where some students living on the border of the city could have walked to the suburban schools on those borders. —Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 24 July 2024

Now, his vehement defenses of Trump have earned praise from the former president and others who have seen Vance as an intellectual force for Trump. —Marianne Levine, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

The Republican convention, set to take place at Fiserv Forum in mid-July, will bring thousands of police officers from outside the city and tens of thousands of visitors, ranging from vehement opponents of the presumptive nominee, former President Donald Trump, to his loyal supporters. —Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, going back to Old French, borrowed from Latin vehement-, vehemens, vēmens "violent, vigorous, (of feelings) overmastering, powerful," perhaps from vehere "to convey, carry along, drive" + -mens, adjective suffix (as in clēmens "mild, calm") of uncertain origin

Note: Alternatively explained as a prefix vē- "faulty, excessive or deficient" and ment-, mens "mind," in which case -ehe- is an unetymological spelling of the long vowel. Though this would account for vehemens in place of *vehimens (with normal vowel weakening), the word never has the sense "mentally deranged" (the meanings of the presumed parallel formations vēcors and vēsānus).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

vehement

adjective

ve·​he·​ment ˈvē-ə-mənt 

1

: showing great force or energy

a vehement wind

2

: highly emotional

vehement patriotism

3

: forcibly expressed

vehement denials

vehemently adverb