as in to speak out
to voice one's opinions freely with force
she's never been afraid to speak up at town meetings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of speak up
Henrikson spoke up at several board meetings and gave interviews to multiple news outlets as the story about Rupert gained regional and national attention.
—
Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2025
This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Your ideas hold extra power at this time, so speak up.
—Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
This is not the first time Tatum spoke up about Hollywood’s troubles.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speak up
Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2025
This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Your ideas hold extra power at this time, so speak up.
—Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
This is not the first time Tatum spoke up about Hollywood’s troubles.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speak up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speak up
Verb
-
Love Is Blind star Nick Amato is speaking out after facing backlash for his comments about potentially having LGBTQ+ children.—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Norton fears she could be laid off during the shutdown or fired for speaking out.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Hasselbeck shouted in response, while the episode was edited to have her and O’Donnell on the screen side-by-side.—
Katherine Schaffstall,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The away supporters at Molineux did not have much else to shout about until the Dutch central defender’s 86th-minute header rescued a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who remain winless at the foot of the table.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Van Dyke recalled crying when the Sherman Brothers first played the now-iconic songs for him.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
-
While naysayers may argue Dalio is the boy who cried wolf, his caution has paid off in the past.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This isn’t quite like other rivalries, such as the Iron Bowl or Georgia-Georgia Tech, where coaches motivate their players by talking up their hatred of the other team.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Execs talked up both at an event in New York Thursday where CEO Chris Winfrey hosted Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Kristin Dolan, CEO of AMC Networks for a chat on the video landscape.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
One Auburn fan leaned over the railing, waved his middle finger and yelled.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
-
So, when peace activist Abbie Hoffman crashed the stage and started yelling into guitarist Pete Townshend's microphone, Townshend was having none of it.—
Diane J. Cho,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz piped up in defense of Kimmel’s right to free speech without governmental interference.—
Sarah Stankorb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Younger Republican voters and GOP contrarians are piping up to challenge the broad consensus in the Republican Party that has been in lockstep with policy on Israel.—
Kristina Karisch,
The Hill,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In chatty columns for the school paper, the Bowdoin Orient, Mamdani regularly sounded off on the topics of the day.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Earlier in the year, Kennedy’s nephew Jack Schlossberg sounded off on social media that the family had not been consulted about the project.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Speak up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speak%20up. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share