- to make (a speech, statement, etc) loudly and in a rhetorical manner
- to speak lines from (a play, poem, etc) with studied eloquence; recite
- (intransitive) followed by against: to protest (against) loudly and publicly
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•claim /dɪˈkleɪm/USA pronunciation
v.
dec•la•ma•tion /ˌdɛkləˈmeɪʃən/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]much declamation.[countable]a very lengthy declamation.
de•clam•a•to•ry /dɪˈklæməˌtɔri, -ˌtoʊri/USA pronunciation adj.: a declamatory way of speaking.See -claim-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Rhetoricto speak aloud while, or as if, making a formal speech: [no object]Marc Antony declaimed over the body of Caesar.[ ~ + obj ]:He declaimed a speech.
dec•la•ma•tion /ˌdɛkləˈmeɪʃən/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]much declamation.[countable]a very lengthy declamation.
de•clam•a•to•ry /dɪˈklæməˌtɔri, -ˌtoʊri/USA pronunciation adj.: a declamatory way of speaking.See -claim-.
de•claim
(di klām′),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
de•claim′er, n.
- Rhetoricto speak aloud in an oratorical manner;
make a formal speech:Brutus declaimed from the steps of the Roman senate building. - Rhetoricto inveigh (usually fol. by against):He declaimed against the high rents in slums.
- Rhetoricto speak or write for oratorical effect, as without sincerity or sound argument.
v.t.
- Rhetoricto utter aloud in an oratorical manner:to declaim a speech.
- Latin dēclāmāre, equivalent. to dē- de- + clāmāre to cry, shout; see claim
- Middle English declamen 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
declaim /dɪˈkleɪm/ vb
'declaim' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):