speak out
No objectThis verb takes no object at all.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: speak OUT. Saying “SPEAK out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “speak” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “speak out” is said “spea-kout”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
What it means
To publicly oppose or criticize something.
- “She spoke out against the new policy.”
- “Few were willing to speak out at the time.”
Similar: protest, denounce