Dictionary

declaim en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /dɪˈkleɪm/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle French declamer, from Latin dēclāmō.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To recite, e.g., poetry, in a theatrical way; to speak for rhetorical display; to speak pompously, noisily, or theatrically; bemouth; to make an empty speech; to rehearse trite arguments in debate; to rant.
   • Grenville seized the opportunity to declaim on the repeal of the stamp act. 1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to X), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company [et al.], →OCLC:
2. (intransitive) To speak rhetorically; to make a formal speech or oration; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking.
   • The students declaim twice a week.
3. (transitive) To object to something vociferously; to rail against in speech.
   • Declaiming such practices, Baskaran writes: 'The flow of the film would not be affected in the least if song sequences were excised, wholly or partly' 1996, Lalitha Gopalan, “Indian Cinema”, in Jill Nelmes, editor, An Introduction to Film Studies:
   • American leaders found it difficult to attack Soviet injustices and demand equality and the rule of law worldwide when African Americans endured systematic segregation throughout much of the nation. Facing Soviet propaganda that declaimed such hypocrisy, and fearful it would alter the status of the Cold War enabling the Soviets to lure African, Asian, and Middle Eastern states into their orbit […] 2014, Cameron D. Lippard, Charles A. Gallagher, editors, Race and Racism in the United States:
   • Their love had gone too far on occasion: praying to those pictures and then sliding to worship those drawings as pagans had once worshiped idols. Many priests declaimed the practice and warned that the people were violating God's first commandment against false idols. 1994, Lawrence Murray, Lonely is the Pioneer:
4. (proscribed, transitive) To disclaim, disavow.
   • Unless these conditions are fulfilled we declaim responsibility. 1928 September, “The Cooperation of the Pharmacist and the Wholesale Druggist (advertisement)”, in Druggist's Circular, page 77:
   • He now declaimed having intended any thing disrespectful to the Senate in the expression he had used. 1835 February 20, “Mr. Adams and the French”, in North River Times:
   • Of course, a small minority has always declaimed any religious affiliation, and some agnostics have been prominent figures in American public life. 2009, Christopher McKnight Nichols, “The "New" No-Religionists”, in Culture:

Forms

Deriveds

declaimer · undeclaimed · declamation · declamatory

Translations (19)

ko 읊다 (to recite in theatrical way) · bg декламирам (to recite in theatrical way) · ja 詠唱する (to recite in theatrical way) · bg рецитирам (to recite in theatrical way) · nl declameren (to recite in theatrical way) · sv deklamera (to recite in theatrical way) · ru деклами́ровать (to recite in theatrical way) · fi deklamoida (to recite in theatrical way) · fr scander (to recite in theatrical way) · fr réciter (to recite in theatrical way) · fr déclamer (to recite in theatrical way) · es declamar (to recite in theatrical way) · fi protestoida (to object vociferously) · fi deklamoida (to recite as rhetorical exercise) · es declamar contra / ante (to object vociferously) · ota اوقومق (to recite in theatrical way) · pl zadeklamować (to recite in theatrical way) · cmn 慷慨陈词 (to object vociferously) · pl deklamować (to recite in theatrical way)