vehement means showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense. It carries an Arena rating of 1651, earned across 28 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vehement ranks #171 of 40,235 for Qualifying, #1,426 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #1,517 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,239 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words.
vehement is pronounced /ˈviː.ə.mənt/.
Why “vehement” is a great word
Characterized by a powerful, forceful, and intensely passionate expression of feeling. From Latin *vehemēns* ("violent, forceful, ardent"), of uncertain derivation, possibly from *vē-* ("lacking") + *mēns* ("mind, judgment"); first recorded in English 1475–85. Unlike "fervent," which suggests a warm, steady ardor, or "emphatic," which denotes a clear and stressed insistence, vehement is a turbulent, impetuous intensity that borders on the aggressive. It is the splintering crash of a fist on a table, the spittle-flecked indictment hurled across a courtroom, the raw and unchecked cry that rips from a throat constricted by injustice—a passion so total it momentarily eclipses reason, a violence against silence.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French vehement (modern French véhément; compare Italian veemente, Portuguese veemente, Spanish vehemente); or from Latin vehemēns (“vehement; very eager; ardent, furious, impetuous; emphatic”), probably from vē- (“lacking, too little”) + mēns (“mind; intellect; judgment, reasoning”).
adj
- Showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense.e.g.“The man made a vehement display of contempt.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.