Vociferating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of loudly articulating demands or complaints is characterized by an intense vocal expression of feelings
2. To speak out in a loud and forceful manner, often showing strong emotion or urgency
3. To project one's voice noisily with passion or insistence in order to be heard or to make a point

Etymology: "Vociferating" is the present participle of "vociferate", and the verb is built from two Latin words that each carry a plain physical sense. "Vox" meant "voice", and "ferre" meant "to bear" or "to carry", so the original image is of voice being carried outward, which is exactly what shouting does. The Latin verb "vociferari" was formed from these parts and passed into English as a learned borrowing, so it arrived as a deliberate, bookish word rather than one shaped by everyday speech. Its English history is short and its meaning has stayed close to the Latin. The core idea has always been sending a voice out loudly, and the added note of strong feeling or urgency comes from how the word is typically used rather than from any separate root. The family resemblance shows in related English words: "voice" comes from the same "vox", and "bear" in its sense of "to carry" comes from the same "ferre".

Synonyms: shouting, clamoring, exclaiming

Antonyms: whispering, muttering