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
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 spoke up
One of the people who spoke up was Leonard Wheeler, a former Carolina Panther who now works for the NFL.
—
Alex Zietlow, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026
One of the people who spoke up was Leonard Wheeler, a former Carolina Panther who now works for the NFL.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 1 May 2026
In March, Grohl spoke up about the aftermath of his announcement in an interview with The Guardian.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
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
Alex Zietlow, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026
One of the people who spoke up was Leonard Wheeler, a former Carolina Panther who now works for the NFL.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 1 May 2026
In March, Grohl spoke up about the aftermath of his announcement in an interview with The Guardian.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoke up
Verb
-
One final command was shouted by the officer.—
Brian Day,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
-
However, Tarabel’s sustainability credentials aren’t shouted about, and future guests might appreciate some in-room information on the steps the hotel is taking to minimize their impact.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The proposal led to a contentious village board meeting at which residents spoke out and fought with the developer, arguing that multifamily units would not be a good fit for the mostly single-family home neighborhood.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
8 May 2026
-
Since Kevin first spoke out Tuesday from Mexico pleading for his parents’ deportation, his health has deteriorated dramatically.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Several jurors cried as they were shown video and heard audio from inside the van after Athena was taken.—
Jamie Stengle,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
Several jurors cried as they were shown video and heard audio from inside the van after Athena was taken.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
On Thursday evening, Jim also interviewed Corning CEO Wendell Weeks, who also talked up the alliance.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
9 May 2026
-
The announcers talked up the juxtaposition between Trick Williams, who was over at the highest level from Day 1, and Sami Zayn—who scratched and clawed his way up the ranks for over two decades.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
People often describe being yelled at, manipulated and called names.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
When he was found, deputies said Ortiz became belligerent, yelled at employees, threatened to harm them with a gun, and grabbed one of the resort employees.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
6 May 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
-
During Wednesday’s interview, Carter also sounded off on the state of the game globally.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
20 Apr. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Spoke up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoke%20up. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
