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Từ điển Oxford Learners Wordfinder Dictionary
speak
1 speaking to sb 2 the sounds that your voice makes when you speak 3 speaking loudly or quietly 4 speaking well and clearly 5 speaking a lot 6 not speaking, or stopping speaking 7 speech problems 8 speaking in public what you say and how you say it SAY see also CONVERSATION, DISCUSS/ARGUE, INFORM, LANGUAGE
1 speaking to sb - to say things to sb, using your voice: speak* (to sb), talk (to sb) Can you speak more slowly please? ◎ I'd like to speak to the manager. ◎ She's just learning to talk. ◎ I could hear some people talking. ◎ Who do you want to talk to? - the act of speaking or the ability to speak: speech (noun U) to lose the power of speech ◎ freedom of speech - something which is spoken or which involves speech is oral (adverb orally), verbal (adverb verbally) an oral examination ◎ a verbal warning - to speak in a particular language: speak (in) sth They were speaking in Dutch and I didn't understand much of what they said. ◎ Do you mind if we speak French? My English is rather poor.
2 the sounds that your voice makes when you speak - the way in which sounds are made in a language: pronunciation (noun C/U); verb: pronounce sth American pronunciation ◎ How do you pronounce 'thorough'? - a person's way of speaking a language or saying a word: pronunciation (noun U) His pronunciation is so good that people think he's French. - to pronounce sth wrongly: mispronounce sth We've known each other for five years, and she still mispronounces my name! - the way in which people from a particular region pronounce the words in their language: accent to speak with a foreign accent ◎ a local accent - an accent which is very easy to recognize is strong, broad He's got a broad Scottish accent. - the way that your voice rises and falls when you speak: intonation (noun U) - the way that sb speaks (for example how loud or high their voice is), which shows how they feel: tone (of voice) From her tone of voice I knew that she was happy. - the force that you put on part of a word when you say it: stress; verb: stress sth The stress is on the second syllable. ◎ The word 'contrast' can be stressed in two different ways. ※ the sound of the voice VOICE
3 speaking loudly or quietly - if you say sth so that people can hear it, you say it aloud, out loud to read aloud ◎ Why don't you say it out loud? - to speak more loudly: speak* up Can you speak up please? I can't hear you. - a piece of electrical equipment that is used for making your voice (or other sounds) louder: microphone, (informal) mike to speak into a microphone - to speak very loudly: shout (sth) (at/to sb), shout (sth) out; noun: shout We all shouted goodbye to them from the window. ◎ Stop shouting! ◎ She shouted out my name. ◎ a warning shout ◎ to give a loud shout - to speak more loudly, especially if you are angry: raise your voice There's no need to raise your voice. - to shout very loudly, often because you are angry, excited or in pain: yell; noun: yell They were all yelling at me at the same time. ◎ a sudden yell of excitement - to shout loudly, for example because you are frightened or in pain: cry (out); noun: cry 'Help!' he cried. ◎ I fell over and cried out in pain. ◎ a cry of pain - to speak loudly in order to attract attention to yourself: call (out); noun: call I could hear someone calling for help. ◎ a call for help - to cry out very loudly and in a high voice: scream; noun: scream 'Don't!' she screamed. ◎ We often hear screams coming from next door. - to speak less loudly: lower your voice, keep* your voice down Can you lower your voice please? - to speak very quietly, using your mouth but not your voice: whisper (sth); noun: whisper They sat at the back whispering right through the lesson. ◎ I saw her whispering something to Paul. ◎ to speak in a whisper - to speak in a low voice: murmur (sth); noun: murmur murmurs of contentment
4 speaking well and clearly - if you speak in a way which is smooth and easy, your speech is fluent (adverb fluently); noun (U): fluency Michael seems able to speak fluently on almost any subject. ◎ to speak with fluency - a person who can speak very clearly is articulate (adverb articulately), eloquent (adverb eloquently); noun (U): eloquence She's surprisingly articulate for her age. ◎ an eloquent speaker ◎ Paul's eloquence helped us to win the argument. - not articulate: inarticulate (adverb inarticulately) ※ not speaking clearly - to speak in a low voice which is unclear and difficult to hear: mumble (sth) Don't mumble - I can't hear what you're saying. ◎ Jane mumbled something about leaving. - to speak in a low voice, in a way which is not clear or easy to hear, for example if you are angry: mutter (sth) He just sat in a corner muttering to himself.
5 speaking a lot - to talk quickly or for a long time about sth unimportant: chatter They spent the whole morning chattering. - this kind of talk: chatter (noun U) I'm fed up with their constant chatter. - a person who talks a lot is talkative a talkative child - to talk for a long time about sth in an uninteresting way: go* on about sth, be on about sth He's always going on about his stamp collection. ◎ What's he on about now?
6 not speaking, or stopping speaking - quiet, not talking: silent (adverb silently); noun (C/U): silence I asked him a question, but he remained silent. ◎ His silence made me nervous. ◎ an embarrassing silence - a moment when you stop speaking: pause; verb: pause She paused for a moment and then went on. - a person who does not speak very much or is unwilling to give information is uncommunicative, not communicative I tried talking to her but she wasn't very communicative. - to stop talking: (informal and rather impolite) shut* up Shut up and listen! - to make sb stop talking: (informal) shut* sb up Can't somebody shut him up? - unable to speak because of surprise, anger, etc: speechless When he told me I'd been sacked I was absolutely speechless.
7 speech problems - to become unable to speak because of a cold or sore throat: lose* your voice He's got a sore throat and he's lost his voice. - a person who is unable to speak is dumb - a person who is unable to hear is deaf to be deaf and dumb ※ more on being deaf HEAR - to speak with difficulty, being unable to say a word without pausing and repeating part of the word: stammer, stutter; nouns: stammer, stutter I only stammer when I'm nervous. ◎ He's got a terrible stutter. - a speech problem which means that a person pronounces the letter 's' as 'th': lisp; verb: lisp She speaks with a slight lisp. - a person whose job is to help people with serious speech problems: speech therapist - the job of a speech therapist: speech therapy (noun U) - a small mistake which you make when you are speaking: slip of the tongue Don't be angry with him - I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue.
8 speaking in public - to speak about sth publicly to a group of people: speak* (on/about sth), talk (on/about sth), make*/give*/deliver a speech/talk (on/about sth) I've been invited to speak at the conference. ◎ What are you going to talk about? ◎ She made an excellent speech. ◎ Did you hear the talk he gave on Picasso? - a speech on a particular subject, especially to a group of students, etc: lecture (on/about sth); verb: lecture (on/about sth) Professor Pinkerton gave an interesting lecture on Eastern philosophy. ◎ He usually lectures on nineteenth-century French art. - a person who gives a speech, lecture, etc: speaker, lecturer - a religious talk in church: sermon What was the sermon about? - to make a religious speech, usually in a church: preach (on/about sth) - a person who preaches: preacher
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