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
Guillen never spoke up to correct him.
—
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
So with the Heat facing the prospect of losing for the eighth time in nine games, with an early 13-point lead lost, the two stepped up and spoke up at halftime, to avoid yet another of the type of third-quarter meltdowns that had cratered this season.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
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
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
So with the Heat facing the prospect of losing for the eighth time in nine games, with an early 13-point lead lost, the two stepped up and spoke up at halftime, to avoid yet another of the type of third-quarter meltdowns that had cratered this season.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoke up
Verb
-
Shortly after the lethal injection got underway, a warden shook Willacy and shouted his name, but there was no response.—
David Fischer,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Bryan stretched it out across something close to 20 minutes, weaving in introductions of his band members, letting each take a turn at showing off their prowess, while the crowd jumped, shouted and swayed in unison.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In a cover story with Glamour, the Summer House star, 30, spoke out about her ex Wilson, 31, and close friend Batula, 34, who confirmed their secret romance on March 31 after online speculation.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Collins spoke out for the first time at a Wednesday news conference since being blinded at the rally.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
According to one account, the McMahons let Patterson go personally, at the mansion, and both Vince and Linda cried.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Mulligan stepped outside and cried quickly, then came back in to do another take.—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Last month, the company also talked up its efforts to double Leo’s launch frequency and pack more satellites into each rocket.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
9 Apr. 2026
-
But anyone with even a casual interest in the Red Sox has talked up Anthony as the next face of the franchise.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Gennett's wife, Valerie Giacobbe, yelled toward the entourage.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Magnano immediately yelled for Jones to drop the knife before Jones began walking toward him with the blade still in his hand, the footage showed.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Garrett Tyrrell of Durango, sitting to her right, piped up.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The water is piped up to the data center for liquid cooling of the servers.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
New York families sounded off at a public hearing Tuesday night over a plan to launch the city’s first public high school focused on artificial intelligence ahead of a key vote later this month.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Spoke up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoke%20up. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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