as in shouted
to voice one's opinions freely with force
she's never been afraid to speak up at town meetings
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spoke up
El-Amin spoke up on civil rights and social issues in an effort to fight for justice.
—
Dana Afana, Freep.com, 29 Oct. 2025
And yet if a player spoke up about it—or made a joke on social media—they’d be slapped with a fine from the league.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2025
Skinner, who won silver in vault at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, spoke up about the issue earlier this year, and is now taking a harder stance.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
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 not the first time Tatum spoke up about Hollywood’s troubles.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Oct. 2025
After Kimmel's suspension, hundreds of government officials, Hollywood stars and fellow late-night talk show hosts spoke up supporting Kimmel and decrying the decision to halt the show.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Before Disney’s statement that Kimmel would be back was sent out, Whoopi Goldberg and other hosts on ABC’s The View host spoke up.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
Angelina Jolie spoke up about the free speech debate going on in the United States.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Dana Afana, Freep.com, 29 Oct. 2025
And yet if a player spoke up about it—or made a joke on social media—they’d be slapped with a fine from the league.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2025
Skinner, who won silver in vault at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, spoke up about the issue earlier this year, and is now taking a harder stance.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
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 not the first time Tatum spoke up about Hollywood’s troubles.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Oct. 2025
After Kimmel's suspension, hundreds of government officials, Hollywood stars and fellow late-night talk show hosts spoke up supporting Kimmel and decrying the decision to halt the show.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Before Disney’s statement that Kimmel would be back was sent out, Whoopi Goldberg and other hosts on ABC’s The View host spoke up.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
Angelina Jolie spoke up about the free speech debate going on in the United States.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoke up
Verb
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Those who predicted a doomed future for all of humanity called us addicts and criminals, leeches and slime (and way worse things) because we were detested, shouted at, dragged by our arms across bedrooms and public sporting events.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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In April, the couple navigated another mid-episode interruption — this time from an audience member who shouted out during an interview with actor Christopher Meloni.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Aldean was among the artists who spoke out in the days after Kirk’s passing.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
3 Nov. 2025
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He was also charged with recording any words churchgoers spoke out of turn, when they were supposed to be attending to the service.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Parents waved from the curb, cried in the parking lot, and maybe sent a care package two weeks later.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Sky Roberts, the brother of the late Jeffrey Epstein accuser, cried when reflecting on how his sister would have reacted to the removal of the former prince's title and honors.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While each talked up their AI strategy, analysts focused on the scale of the investments and how these plans will start translating to tangible returns.—
Alex Harring,Yun Li,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
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Pichai also talked up Gemini, the company’s large-language model, which has been integrated into search results on Google.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The man's cellmate, according to court documents, yelled to a nearby officer.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
4 Nov. 2025
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Moviegoers' comic enjoyment was so prominent that at one point, a foul-mouthed viewer yelled for everyone to shut up.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
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The candidates sounded off on balancing the needs of homeowners and renters, private property rights and the biggest challenges Boise residents face.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
15 Oct. 2025
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The artist never revealed what caused the reaction, but asked for fans' grace in case a note sounded off.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spoke up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoke%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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