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speak
Synonyms:

articulate, bring out, converse, disclose, enunciate, pass, pronounce, say, state, talk, tell, utter, verbalize, vocalize.

Related Words:

convey, deliver, express, communicate, shout, declare, say, chat, whisper, go, utter, voice, tell, argue, talk, plead, chew, expatiate, descant, pronounce.

Synonym Study 1:

Speak, converse, and talk mean to make vocal sounds, usually for purposes of communication.

To speak often implies conveying information and may apply to anything from an informal remark to a scholarly presentation to a formal address:
to speak sharply; to speak before Congress.

To converse is to exchange ideas with someone by speaking:
to converse with a friend.

To talk is a close synonym for to speak but usually refers to less formal situations:
to talk about the weather; to talk with a friend.

Synonym Study 2:

Speak, talk, and converse mean to express in words.

Speak is used of anything said, whether it is understood or not and whether it is heard or not:
we didn't know what language they were speaking.

Talk is used when there is a listener who understands what is said and often when both people do some speaking:
we talked about school.

Converse is used for the exchange of thoughts and opinions:
the scientists conversed about traveling in space.

Origin:

before 900; Middle English speken, Old English specan, variant of sprecan; cognate with German sprechen (Old High German sprehhan; compare variant spehhan). Old English specan; related to Old High German spehhan, Middle High German spechten to gossip, Middle Dutch speken; see speech. —Dictionary.com. // First Known Use: Verb: before the 12th century. History and Etymology: Verb: Middle English speken, from Old English sprecan, specan; akin to Old High German sprehhan to speak, Greek spharageisthai to crackle. Old English sprecan, later specan, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch spreken and German sprechen. —Merriam-Webster.

Sources: 1, 2, 3.

Updated: 17 July 2020 {6:11 PM}
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