vehemence

UK/ˈviːəmən(t)s/US/ˈviːəmən(t)s/

nounC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechneutral

Vehemence is great forcefulness of feeling or expression. Argue with vehemence.

It says nothing about whether the person is right, which is worth remembering. Vehemence in a denial is often read as guilt, fairly or not.

Definitions of vehemence

1nounvehemenceGreat forcefulness of feeling or expression.C1
“The vehemence of the reply surprised everybody in the room.”

vehemence is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin vehementia, from vehemens, eager or violent, possibly from vehere, to carry.

Latin
vehementia — eagerness, strength
Old French
vëemence
Middle English
vehemens
English, today
vehemence

Built from

vehemens · Latin — eager

From Middle English vehemens, vemance, from Old French vëemence, vehemence, from Latin vehementia (“eagerness, strength”), from vehemens (“eager”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

vehemence in the wild

The title of the document is taken from its opening words in Latin, which mean "We with vehemence".
Vehementer Nos
The eloquence of Africanus was chiefly characterized by vehemence and energy.
Julius Africanus (orator)
In rhetoric, epizeuxis, also known as palilogia, is the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis.
Epizeuxis
Sosicles remonstrated with indignant vehemence against the measure, and set forth the evils which Corinth had endured under the successive tyrannies of Cypselus and Periander.
Sosicles (statesman)
Latro is said to have possessed an astonishing memory, and displayed the greatest energy and vehemence, not only in declamation, but also in his studies and other pursuits.
Marcus Porcius Latro

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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