as in spoken out
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 spoken up
Over the past few weeks, a number of people have spoken up about just how much of the show is true.
—
Meg Walters, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
Soudal–Quick-Step have not spoken up in that discussion regularly this season.
—Andy McGrath, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
Bridges also isn’t the only big star who’s spoken up about ICE recently.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025
But individual commissioners have spoken up on either side of it.
—Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Why haven't our players and the PGA spoken up to condemn them?
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
Obama, who has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office, has spoken up more recently about political issues and Trump’s actions since the former real-estate tycoon retook office in January.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025
Since then, others involved in the scandal have spoken up, with one women, Makenna Gibbons, alleging that Paul was partly to blame for her divorce.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2025
Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley, has also spoken up in support of trans women, as did Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang (albeit in a more subtle way).
—James Factora, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
Meg Walters, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
Soudal–Quick-Step have not spoken up in that discussion regularly this season.
—Andy McGrath, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
Bridges also isn’t the only big star who’s spoken up about ICE recently.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025
But individual commissioners have spoken up on either side of it.
—Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Why haven't our players and the PGA spoken up to condemn them?
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
Obama, who has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office, has spoken up more recently about political issues and Trump’s actions since the former real-estate tycoon retook office in January.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025
Since then, others involved in the scandal have spoken up, with one women, Makenna Gibbons, alleging that Paul was partly to blame for her divorce.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2025
Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley, has also spoken up in support of trans women, as did Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang (albeit in a more subtle way).
—James Factora, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoken up
Verb
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Of the many women who have spoken out against you, Gwyneth Paltrow has been particularly upsetting to you.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
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King Charles has spoken out about the Epstein files, and, according to multiple outlets, will back a police inquiry into his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the man formerly known as Prince Andrew.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
By now, the standard sound of rage rap — redlining drums deployed with abandon, frenetic, almost spastic chord arrangements, and often shouted, mantra-like lyrics delivered in an impassioned scream — has become a predictable shorthand for overtures to a younger audience.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Before and after the vote, people in the hearing room shouted at lawmakers and warned of the harm the bill could do.—
Becca Savransky,
Idaho Statesman,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Device makers have talked up a world where users may be able to ask their AI agents to call a cab or book a hotel.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Peterson had talked up head coach Bill Self’s KU program.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Chan and Acosta beat Tay for more than seven minutes while Tay cried and begged for help and then forced Tay to drink rubbing alcohol and sealed his mouth with duct tape, authorities have said.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
3 Mar. 2026
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Her family cried nonstop and eventually decided to leave for the north near the Caspian Sea.—
Amin Khodadadi,
NBC news,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To be fair, the prospect of seeing Swift at Chiefs games isn’t setting well with fans for other teams, who this week sounded off with some bitterness.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Mayor Mamdani on Friday sounded off against ICE and issued an executive order aimed at putting an exclamation on point on the city’s existing sanctuary policies.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 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
Cite this Entry
“Spoken up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoken%20up. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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