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
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
-
Video shows deputies swarming the vehicle and pulling the suspect out as commands are shouted.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Auriemma had angry words for South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and had to be restrained by his assistant coaches while Staley shouted at him in response after UConn lost its first game of the season, 62-48, at the Mortgage Matchup Center.—
Lori Riley,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Following the April 7 hearing, where a judge and guardian ad litem determined that the couple's 2-year-old son Ever would remain in Mortensen's custody with up to 8 hours per week of supervised visitation for Paul, the MomToker spoke out.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Brian spoke out for the first time since the incident.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Amalia cried after the family was loaded into a van full of other parents and young children.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Lindsay Ward, 49, cried in the lobby after touring the Civil Rights Museum.—
Gary Fields,
Los Angeles Times,
12 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
-
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 13 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
