SPEAKING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does speaking mean? 

• SPEAKING (noun)
  The noun SPEAKING has 2 senses:

1. the utterance of intelligible speech

2. delivering an address to a public audience

  Familiarity information: SPEAKING used as a noun is rare.

• SPEAKING (adjective)
  The adjective SPEAKING has 1 sense:

1. capable of or involving speech or speaking

  Familiarity information: SPEAKING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPEAKING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The utterance of intelligible speech

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

speaking; speech production

Hypernyms ("speaking" is a kind of...):

utterance; vocalization (the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "speaking"):

speech (the exchange of spoken words)

susurration; voicelessness; whisper; whispering (speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords)

Derivation:

speak (express in speech)

speak (use language)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Delivering an address to a public audience

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

oral presentation; public speaking; speaking; speechmaking

Context example:

people came to see the candidates and hear the speechmaking

Hypernyms ("speaking" is a kind of...):

address; speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "speaking"):

reading; recital; recitation (a public instance of reciting or repeating (from memory) something prepared in advance)

debate; disputation; public debate (the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote))

Derivation:

speak (give a speech to)

• SPEAKING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Capable of or involving speech or speaking

Context example:

a speaking part in the play

Similar:

tongued (having a manner of speaking as specified; often used in combination)

Antonym:

nonspeaking (not capable of or especially not involving speech or spoken lines)

 Context examples 

I see them speaking to her in the street.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Her own gentle voice speaking from the other end of the room, which was a very long one, told them that she was on the sofa.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

He became suddenly aware that she was speaking and that she had been speaking for some time.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Patients experience difficulty swallowing and/or speaking.

(Lateral Medullary Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs include: • Hunger • Shakiness • Dizziness • Confusion • Difficulty speaking • Feeling anxious or weak

(Hypoglycemia, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

This affects basic activities such as speaking, walking, breathing, and swallowing.

(Motor neuron disease, NCI Dictionary)

A question about whether an individual has or has been moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed.

(Moving or Speaking So Slowly that Other People Could Have Noticed, NCI Thesaurus)

When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing, or learning.

(Neurologic Diseases, NIH)

They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems, or trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking.

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

We were speaking the other day, you know, of his being so warm an admirer of her performance.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)