speech act (redirected from Speech acts)

speech act

n.

An act that is performed by making an utterance, as the issuing of a warning, the making of a promise, or the giving of a greeting.

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speech act

n Philosophy

1. (Philosophy / Logic) an utterance that constitutes some act in addition to the mere act of uttering

2. (Philosophy) an act or type of act capable of being so performed See also performative

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

speech act - the use of language to perform some act human action, human activity, act, deed - something that people do or cause to happen congratulation, felicitation - the act of acknowledging that someone has an occasion for celebration slander - words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another proposal, proposition - the act of making a proposal; "they listened to her proposal" bid, bidding, command, dictation - an authoritative direction or instruction to do something agreement - the verbal act of agreeing citation - (law) the act of citing (as of spoken words or written passages or legal precedents etc.) disagreement - the speech act of disagreeing or arguing or disputing offer, offering - the verbal act of offering; "a generous offer of assistance" asking, request - the verbal act of requesting reply, response - the speech act of continuing a conversational exchange; "he growled his reply" description - the act of describing something affirmation, assertion, statement - the act of affirming or asserting or stating something denial - the act of refusing to comply (as with a request); "it resulted in a complete denial of his privileges" rejection - the speech act of rejecting objection - the speech act of objecting making known, informing - a speech act that conveys information disclosure, revealing, revelation - the speech act of making something evident promise - a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future boast, boasting, jactitation, self-praise - speaking of yourself in superlatives naming - the verbal act of naming; "the part he failed was the naming of state capitals" challenge - a call to engage in a contest or fight explanation - the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible; "I heard his explanation of the accident" denouncement, denunciation - a public act of denouncing speech, address - the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience; "he listened to an address on minor Roman poets" resignation - the act of giving up (a claim or office or possession etc.)