First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
vehement
adjective ve·he·ment \ˈvē-ə-mənt\
: showing strong and often angry feelings : very emotional
Full Definition of VEHEMENT
: marked by forceful energy : powerful <a vehement wind>: as a : intensely emotional : impassioned, fervid <vehement patriotism> b (1) : deeply felt <a vehement suspicion> (2) : forcibly expressed <vehement denunciations> c : bitterly antagonistic <a vehement debate>
— ve·he·ment·ly adverb
See vehement defined for English-language learners
See vehement defined for kids
ADVERTISEMENT
Examples of VEHEMENT
- Cranes rise above the old rooftops, adding new office towers and new condominiums and new malls to a city where Jonathan Swift once issued his vehement bulletins. —Pete Hamill, Gourmet, April 2007
- As they shouted and mocked, I wondered how they could have developed such intense, vehement hatred toward people with whom they had had no previous contact. —Todd Hechtman, The News/Sun-Sentinel, 1 Feb. 1987
- He cursed himself like a less scrupulous Job, as a vehement man will do when he loses self-respect, the last mental prop under poverty. —Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886
- Both the ladies indulged in vehement screaming for several minutes; and Mr. Cymon Tuggs, besides sustaining intense bodily pain, had the additional mental anguish of witnessing their distressing situation, without having the power to rescue them, by reason of his leg being firmly screwed in between the animal and the wall. —Charles Dickens, Sketches by “Boz”, 1836
- [+]more
Origin of VEHEMENT
Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin vehement-, vehemens, vement-, vemens
Related to VEHEMENT
- Synonyms
- aggressive, assertive, dynamic, energetic, forceful, full-blooded, muscular, resounding, strenuous, emphatic, vigorous, violent
- Antonyms
- nonassertive, nonemphatic, unemphatic
VEHEMENTLY Defined for Kids
vehement
adjective ve·he·ment \ˈvē-ə-mənt\
Definition of VEHEMENT for Kids
1
: showing great force or energy <a vehement wind>
2
: highly emotional <vehement patriotism>
3
: expressed with force <a vehement denial>
— ve·he·ment·ly adverb
Learn More About VEHEMENT
Browse
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up vehement? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).