vehement
Americanadjective
-
a vehement defense;
vehement enthusiasm.
- Antonyms:
- dispassionate
-
characterized by rancor or anger; violent.
vehement hostility.
- Antonyms:
- dispassionate
-
strongly emotional; intense or passionate.
vehement desire.
-
marked by great energy or exertion; strenuous.
vehement clapping.
adjective
-
marked by intensity of feeling or conviction; emphatic
-
(of actions, gestures, etc) characterized by great energy, vigour, or force; furious
Other Word Forms
- nonvehement adjective
- overvehement adjective
- unvehement adjective
- vehemence noun
- vehemently adverb
Etymology
Origin of vehement
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin vehement-, stem of vehemēns, vēmēns “violent, forceful”; of uncertain derivation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some of their children, including a nephew who is now in France, have become vehement critics.
From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026
The announcement came just a few days after she and President Donald Trump had vehement disagreements over the release of Justice Department files related to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
The times, then and now, the book implies, call for vehement exhortation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025
But online, this declaration of heroism was quickly complicated by vehement backlish.
From Salon • Dec. 11, 2024
“Colonel, I’m not going to stand for it any more,” he declared with vehement determination, and watched in dismay as Colonel Korn went trotting by up the steps without even noticing him.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
