upspeak

English

Etymology

From 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)

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

Derived terms

upspeaker

Noun

upspeak (uncountable)

(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