as in shouted
to voice one's opinions freely with force
she's never been afraid to speak up at town meetings
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Recent Examples of spoke up
Readers spoke up and delivered votes for restaurants to move on to the next round.
—
Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Scherzinger then spoke up again to finish her thought.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 Mar. 2026
Slusser fought back and spoke up, waging legal battles against the NCAA, Mountain West and CSU over her experience.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 13 Mar. 2026
In mid-January, after surrendering his shotgun to authorities, Rourke spoke up again about the GoFundMe campaign, which by then had raised $90,000.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
Tatum spoke up in a team meeting on Thursday, sharing a message of gratitude and appreciation that resonated with head coach Joe Mazzulla.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2026
Fans spoke up—and KFC listened.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2026
Not long after, the boy who had participated in teasing his classmates spoke up and asked for accountability, Shenker said.
—Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 18 Feb. 2026
What followed was not chaos, but something more deliberate—a narrowing of what could be said publicly, to punish those who spoke up, and to quietly erase stories that needed to be told.
—Adrianne Wright, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Scherzinger then spoke up again to finish her thought.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 Mar. 2026
Slusser fought back and spoke up, waging legal battles against the NCAA, Mountain West and CSU over her experience.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 13 Mar. 2026
In mid-January, after surrendering his shotgun to authorities, Rourke spoke up again about the GoFundMe campaign, which by then had raised $90,000.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
Tatum spoke up in a team meeting on Thursday, sharing a message of gratitude and appreciation that resonated with head coach Joe Mazzulla.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2026
Fans spoke up—and KFC listened.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2026
Not long after, the boy who had participated in teasing his classmates spoke up and asked for accountability, Shenker said.
—Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 18 Feb. 2026
What followed was not chaos, but something more deliberate—a narrowing of what could be said publicly, to punish those who spoke up, and to quietly erase stories that needed to be told.
—Adrianne Wright, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoke up
Verb
-
The officers shouted overlapping commands, telling LaMorie to stop and drop the knife before firing seconds later.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
-
King shouted, his voice echoing.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The international film community—including the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice festivals and the American Cinematheque—spoke out against these persecutions.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
On Tuesday, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford spoke out to criticize the Legislature for the 287(g) bill and for not working with law enforcement.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Jonathan Kennedy, a tow truck operator, cried too.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated March 27,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Classmates held pink flowers and cried, and her grandparents thanked everyone for coming.—
Angela George,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The lawmakers say this could be a serious problem, considering federal agencies, including the FBI, have talked up the privacy benefits of using VPNs.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In 2021, the real estate investment trust Seritage Growth Properties had talked up the possibility of installing as many as nine residential and office buildings on the site.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Those who yelled were drowned out by the chanting and singing.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
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The lawsuit also said that when complaints were made about the harassment, they were not properly investigated and the employees were subject to retaliation, including being given double shifts, being accused of wrongdoing and being berated and yelled at by supervisors.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The water is piped up to the data center for liquid cooling of the servers.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Mar. 2026
-
When the crowd got a chance to ask questions, a rancher piped up.—
Elise Schmelzer,
Denver Post,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
People sounded off, hearing that the Garrettford-Drexel Hill Fire Company didn't respond to any emergency calls on Wednesday night.—
Joe Holden,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Thousands have sounded off on the video.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoke up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoke%20up. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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