speak volumes

English

WOTD – 15 May 2016

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: speak vol‧umes

Verb

speak volumes (third-person singular simple present speaks volumes, present participle speaking volumes, simple past spoke volumes, past participle spoken volumes)

1. To talk a great deal.

   I can speak volumes about this school.

2. To convey significant information beyond what is explicit, especially unintentionally.

   In our day-to-day experiences, it is often such nonverbal emotional information carried by the human voice that “speaks volumes.”

3. (of an action, situation, or object) To convey significant information.

   The way you listen speaks volumes.

   The lighted decorated Christmas tree, a treat for all, speaks volumes of meaning.

   • 1990, Roy Hollis, Eve, New York, N.Y.: Vantage Press, →ISBN:

     I waited, anticipating her reply. Her hesitation spoke volumes.

   • 2016 March 27, Daniel Taylor, “Eric Dier seals England’s stunning comeback against Germany”, in The Guardian‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 1 April 2016:

     Two-nil down, playing the World Cup winners in Berlin, England’s response spoke volumes for the spirit of togetherness Hodgson has been trying to foster and provided a victory that will be remembered with the kind of fondness usually reserved for the 5–1 win in Munich from an entirely different era.

Synonyms

• tell volumes

Hypernyms

• (to convey significant information beyond what is explicit): connote

Translations

to convey significant information beyond what is explicit

• Catalan: dir molt
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: boekdelen spreken
• Finnish: kertoa paljon
• French: en dire long (fr), vouloir tout dire
• German: Bände sprechen (de), viel besagen
• Italian: dirla lunga
• Portuguese: dizer mundos (pt), dizer muito, dizer imenso (Portugal)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: decir mucho

Further reading

• “speak volumes”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.