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An ambiguous speech; a figure in which a word is used an equivocal sense. [R.]

eaven and earth discoasted lie. G. Fletcher. To discoast from the plain and simple way of speech. Barrow.

. in some disconformity to ourselves. Milton. Disagreement and disconformity betwixt the speech and the conception of the mind. Hakewill.

Consecutive speech, either written or unwritten, on a given line of thought; speech; treatise; dissertation; sermon, etc.; as, the preacher gave us a long discourse on duty.

To break the natural order and relations of; to make incoherent; as, a disjointed speech.

the Reformed Church. The word is also applied locally in the United States, in colloquial speech, to any clergyman.

Stupid; foolish. [Obs.] Senseless speech and doted ignorance. Spenser.

The acts or speech of a dotard; drivel. [R.]

Destitute of the power of speech; unable; to utter articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes. To unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures. Hooker.

Doubleness of heart or speech; insincerity; a sustained form of deception which consists in entertaining or pretending to entertain one of feelings, and acting as if influenced by another; bad faith. Far from the duplicity wickedly charged on him, he acted his part with alacrity and resolution. Burke.…

the sense of hearing; specif., thinking words as spoken, as a result of familiarity with speech or of mental peculiarity; -- opposed to eye-minded.

nse; answer. Fame is the echo of actions, resounding them. Fuller. Many kind, and sincere speeches found an echo in his heart. R. L. Stevenson.

ed or decisive effect; efficient; serviceable; operative; as, an effective force, remedy, speech; the effective men in a regiment. They are not effective of anything, nor leave no work behind them. Bacon. Whosoever is an effective, real cause of doing his heighbor wrong, is criminal. Jer. Taylor.

Utterance by speech. [R.] [Fruit] whose taste . . . Gave elocution to the mute, and taught The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise. Milton.

Fluent, forcible, elegant, and persuasive speech in public; the power of expressing strong emotions in striking and appropriate language either spoken or written, thereby producing conviction or persuasion. Eloquence is speaking out . . . out of the abundance of the heart. Hare.

To hinder from freedom of thought, speech, or action by something which impedes or confuses mental action; to perplex; to discompose; to disconcert; as, laughter may embarrass an orator.

make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. Bacon. Such pitiful embellishments of speech as serve for nothing but to embase divinity. South.

A substitution, as of one part of speech for another, of one gender, number, case, person, tense, mode, or voice, of the same word, for another.

A figure of speech by which what is to be understood affirmatively is stated negatively, and the contrary; affirmation by contraries.

To bring to an end or conclusion; to finish; to close; to terminate; as, to end a speech. "I shall end this strife." Shak. On the seventh day God ended his work. Gen. ii. 2.