1
as in lectures
a usually formal discourse delivered to an audience
the guest of honor gave a short speech in appreciation of the award
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in languages
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
wanting to develop a writing system for his people, Sequoya created a system of 86 symbols representing all the syllables of Cherokee speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of speeches
As anxiety has mounted about depressed entry-level hiring, with Gen Z crowds even booing luminaries such as Eric Schmidt amid commencement speeches touting AI, Dimon has given warm but blunt advice to ambitious young workers.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Other presidents have used commencement speeches to announce major policy initiatives and agreements, including on foreign policy.
—Austin Sarat, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026
In recent weeks, Vance has made several speeches and traveled outside Washington to tout the administration's efforts to tackle fraud in federal social programs.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Los Altos hosts its seventh annual Juneteenth Festival, with rum punch, beer and wine alongside speeches, dance performances, art, music, food and vendors.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
Brendan Gomez, Glenbrook South’s student body president, kicked off the speeches with a brief address sprinkled with jokes.
—Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
While there are no lengthy speeches about the importance of the games, Glasner is able to build his players up in a different way.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Each May, these speeches offer a window in the varieties of success.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Both Donatella Versace and Anya Taylor-Joy delivered speeches at Friday's ceremony.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 22 May 2026
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Other presidents have used commencement speeches to announce major policy initiatives and agreements, including on foreign policy.
—Austin Sarat, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026
In recent weeks, Vance has made several speeches and traveled outside Washington to tout the administration's efforts to tackle fraud in federal social programs.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Los Altos hosts its seventh annual Juneteenth Festival, with rum punch, beer and wine alongside speeches, dance performances, art, music, food and vendors.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
Brendan Gomez, Glenbrook South’s student body president, kicked off the speeches with a brief address sprinkled with jokes.
—Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
While there are no lengthy speeches about the importance of the games, Glasner is able to build his players up in a different way.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Each May, these speeches offer a window in the varieties of success.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Both Donatella Versace and Anya Taylor-Joy delivered speeches at Friday's ceremony.
—Hannah Malach, InStyle, 22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speeches
Noun
-
Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Liveried guards greet you at the grand entrance and breeze through ‘hello’ in any number of languages.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The small Nordic country had applied to join the EU in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, before suspending membership talks four years later.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
-
Wednesday’s talks lasted nearly nine hours and came after a full day of talks on Tuesday at the US State Department.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
By the end of the learning unit, Burton said growth in the children could be seen as their vocabularies expanded to using words such as thermometer, blood pressure and punctured.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Shallow, misogynistic speech has seeped into the daily vocabularies of many, suggesting the toxic, anti-woman values that have long inspired such rhetoric are once again calcifying into a widespread and serious problem.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Speeches and sermons circulated widely, helping create a national political identity before the nation itself formally existed.—
Richard Torrenzano,
Fortune,
26 May 2026
-
During Muharram’s mourning period, Shiʿis gather in assemblies to hear preachers offer sermons, relate the life of Ḥusayn, and recount the events of the Battle of Karbala.—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Beef cheeks and tongues, Frenched racks of lamb, glistening hams, poulet de Bresse, and rabbits still with their heads, round eyes blinkless under long lashes frozen in the ice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Padding at the tongues and collars offer a secure fit that keeps your feet firmly in place, and grippy rubber outsoles will do wonders to eliminate slipping during unexpected summer showers.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Before his assassination at age 39 on April 4, 1968, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate spent a decade giving fearless orations and profound insights that continue to inspire generations, all deserving attention and consideration.—
Lydia Price,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
-
His orations of statistics, stories, and argumentative persuasion at colleges were energetic, frictious, and necessary to unshackle us from grievance and tribalism.—
Alex Rosado,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Language is often a reflection of the culture that shapes it, impacting tone, idioms, dialects and even silence across regions.—
Ryan Kolln,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.—
Steve Baltin,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
The bigger issue is that many systems still rely on information criminals may already have, such as birthdays, addresses and partial Social Security numbers.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
-
The attack exposed student names, email addresses, ID numbers, and communications from some institutions.—
Tarika Barrett,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speeches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speeches. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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