upspeak

English

Etymology

up- +‎ speak.

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /ʌpˈspiːk/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈʌpspiːk/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: up‧speak

Verb

upspeak (third-person singular simple present upspeaks, present participle upspeaking, simple past upspoke, past participle upspoken)

1. (intransitive) To speak up; advocate.
   • 1921, Wallace Irwin, Seed of the sun:

     "Well, if I didn't stay in your home," upspoke the maiden lady, "I shouldn't care to know what it would become."

2. (linguistics, transitive, intransitive) To speak with upspeak; to uptalk.

Derived terms

• upspeaker

Noun

upspeak (uncountable)

1. (linguistics) A manner of speaking in which the intonation of one's voice rises at the end of a statement, as if expressing uncertainty or asking a question; uptalk.
   • 2012, Elizabeth Flock, But Inside I'm Screaming:

     [...] the nurse answers in upspeak. “You can work on it only if you're supervised.” Even the Oil of Olay moisturizer is confiscated. “It's in a glass jar?” Upspeak again.

Anagrams

• speak up, upspake