speech

n 1: a formal spoken communication delivered to an audience; "he

listened to an address on minor Roman poets" [syn: {address}]

2: communication by word of mouth; "his speech was slurred";

"he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the language of

the streets" [syn: {spoken language}, {language}, {oral

communication}]

3: something spoken; "he could hear them uttering merry

speeches"

4: the exchange of spoken words; "they were perfectly

comfortable together without speech"

5: your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself

orally; "his manner of speaking was quite abrupt"; "her

speech was barren of southernisms"; "I detected a slight

accent in his speech" [syn: {manner of speaking}, {delivery}]

6: a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of

discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" [syn: {lecture},

{talking to}]

7: words making up the dialogue of a play; "the actor forgot

his lines" [syn: {actor's line}, {words}]

8: the mental faculty or power of vocal communication;

"language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"

[syn: {language}]