as in spoke up
to voice one's opinions freely with force
it's a free country, so anyone can speak out
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Recent Examples of spoke out
The Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition of artists’ rights groups affiliated with the Hollywood unions, also spoke out against the AI model on Friday.
—
Gene Maddaus, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Shofner held a press conference ahead of the meeting and, along with other activists and the family members of Jalin Seabron, spoke out against a resolution committing county support to Douglas County Sheriff's deputies who have been sued for their actions while working.
—Olivia Young, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
More recently, the mayor spoke out against the county’s plan to cut $200 million in homeless services.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Francis also spoke out frequently a bout the positive values of teamwork and camaraderie in sport, especially for young people, and during his pontificate the Holy See began fielding track and cycling athletes in international competitions as team Atletica Vaticana.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
The net grew wider as the politicized Justice Department targeted city and state public officials who spoke out.
—Kica Matos, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
That echoes the account of another parent, Quasheema Frye, who previously spoke out to PEOPLE after a substitute in the school district raised concerns on social media.
—Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Gilbert also spoke out in support of her husband for the first time on Tuesday after deactivating her social media accounts on Sunday.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
Vance spoke out on social media, expressing his gratitude to the Secret Service and Cincinnati police for responding quickly.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2026
Gene Maddaus, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Shofner held a press conference ahead of the meeting and, along with other activists and the family members of Jalin Seabron, spoke out against a resolution committing county support to Douglas County Sheriff's deputies who have been sued for their actions while working.
—Olivia Young, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
More recently, the mayor spoke out against the county’s plan to cut $200 million in homeless services.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Francis also spoke out frequently a bout the positive values of teamwork and camaraderie in sport, especially for young people, and during his pontificate the Holy See began fielding track and cycling athletes in international competitions as team Atletica Vaticana.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
The net grew wider as the politicized Justice Department targeted city and state public officials who spoke out.
—Kica Matos, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
That echoes the account of another parent, Quasheema Frye, who previously spoke out to PEOPLE after a substitute in the school district raised concerns on social media.
—Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Gilbert also spoke out in support of her husband for the first time on Tuesday after deactivating her social media accounts on Sunday.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
Vance spoke out on social media, expressing his gratitude to the Secret Service and Cincinnati police for responding quickly.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoke out
Verb
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What followed was not chaos, but something more deliberate—a narrowing of what could be said publicly, to punish those who spoke up, and to quietly erase stories that needed to be told.—
Adrianne Wright,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026
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It was built by workers who spoke up.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Witherspoon shouted in the same way Captain America assembles the Avengers.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Footage showed dozens of people being arrested as agitators shouted insults at state patrol officers, tore down yellow police tape and hurled lewd objects at law enforcement.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Taneja also talked up the investment in xAI, noting that Grok, the chatbot made by xAI, was already in use across Tesla’s fleet.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
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Last quarter, Tesla shares slumped after Musk talked up the company’s Optimus and Robotaxi efforts but failed to confront questions about the fundamentals of the auto segment.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In front of a raucous home crowd, Italy held off Georgia for the bronze medal behind a dazzling free skate from Matteo Rizzo, who dropped to his knees on the ice and cried.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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Duran looked down at the defense table as the verdict was read while Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, and his partner, Pearl Velez, the mother of his two children, cried in the gallery.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Schneider yelled to the cheering crowd.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Feb. 2026
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Cook said that Parker pulled out her phone and yelled at the suspects to leave.—
Briauna Brown,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When the crowd got a chance to ask questions, a rancher piped up.—
Elise Schmelzer,
Denver Post,
24 Nov. 2025
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Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz piped up in defense of Kimmel’s right to free speech without governmental interference.—
Sarah Stankorb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Mayor Mamdani on Friday sounded off against ICE and issued an executive order aimed at putting an exclamation on point on the city’s existing sanctuary policies.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
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And months after its debut in October, Blue Bloods star Tom Selleck sounded off about the potential of him returning to his role of Frank Reagan.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a non-profit research organization, has tracked nihilistic attacks across the globe, including stabbings in Sweden by teenagers associated with a group called No Lives Matter, and the killing of three girls in northern England.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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While Streeting was on-message with the rest of the Cabinet in supporting Starmer after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for the prime minister to resign, the secretary reportedly spoke with Sarwar in the days leading up to the call for Starmer to resign.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoke%20out. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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