vociferate

American  

[voh-sif-uh-reyt] / voʊˈsɪf əˌreɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

vociferated, vociferating

1. to speak or cry out loudly or noisily; shout; bawl.

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vociferate British  

/ vəʊˈsɪfəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to exclaim or cry out about (something) clamorously, vehemently, or insistently

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Other Word Forms

• outvociferate verb (used with object)
• vociferation noun
• vociferator noun

Etymology

Origin of vociferate

1590–1600; < Latin vōciferātus (past participle of vōciferāri to shout), equivalent to vōci-, stem of vōx voice + fer ( re ) to bear ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

To vociferate is to shout, wail, or yell loudly and vehemently. People vociferate when they want to be heard. Vociferating is a fancy word for shouting. During a chase, a police officer might vociferate, "Stop!" In sports, coaches are often seen vociferating at referees to protest a bad call. While parents might vociferate when a child is in danger or misbehaving, the word implies a loud, forceful outcry rather than just talking loudly. Because it involves being loud and making a scene, you should never vociferate in a quiet place like a library or a theater — unless there's an emergency.

Example Sentences

These bronze rowdies whoop and vociferate on all sides.

From Time Magazine Archive

When he does attempt to vociferate, the asthmatic complaint under which he evidently labours prevents him from delivering the sentences in more copious instalments than the following:— “I’ll fight—till—from my bones—my flesh—be hacked!”

From Punch, or the London Charivari. Volume 1, July 31, 1841 by Various

I once heard an old cook vociferate from the kitchen of a small inn to a boy in the yard.

From Le Morvan, [A District of France,] Its Wild Sports, Vineyards and Forests; with Legends, Antiquities, Rural and Local Sketches by Jesse, William

They are counted, as illiterate farmers count sheep; amidst much fuss and confusion they return to their places, and the tellers vociferate the result.

From Anticipations Of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human life and Thought by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Several, when they saw us, came forward, and began to shake their spears and vociferate loudly.

From In the Wilds of Africa by Pearse, Alfred