vehement

adjective

ve·​he·​ment ˈvē-ə-mənt 

: marked by forceful energy : powerful

a vehement wind

: such as

a

: intensely emotional : impassioned, fervid

vehement patriotism

b(1)

: deeply felt

a vehement suspicion

(2)

: forcibly expressed

vehement denunciations

c

: bitterly antagonistic

a vehement debate

vehemently adverb

Synonyms

• aggressive
• assertive
• dynamic
• emphatic
• energetic
• forceful
• full-blooded
• muscular
• resounding
• strenuous
• vigorous
• violent

Examples of vehement in a Sentence

Cranes rise above the old rooftops, adding new office towers and new condominiums and new malls to a city where Jonathan Swift once issued his vehement bulletins. —Pete Hamill, Gourmet, April 2007

As they shouted and mocked, I wondered how they could have developed such intense, vehement hatred toward people with whom they had had no previous contact. —Todd Hechtman, The News/Sun-Sentinel, 1 Feb. 1987

He cursed himself like a less scrupulous Job, as a vehement man will do when he loses self-respect, the last mental prop under poverty. —Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886

Both the ladies indulged in vehement screaming for several minutes; and Mr. Cymon Tuggs, besides sustaining intense bodily pain, had the additional mental anguish of witnessing their distressing situation, without having the power to rescue them, by reason of his leg being firmly screwed in between the animal and the wall. —Charles Dickens, Sketches by "Boz", 1836

He issued a vehement denial of the accusation.

The proposal has faced vehement opposition from many teachers.

She was vehement about the need for new safety measures.

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, Zermelo examined the work of some of the most vehement critics of the axiom of choice and was able to prove that his colleagues—without realizing it—had actually made use of the axiom again and again. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024

Waters, who has frequently drawn the ire of the pro-Israel community for his vehement support of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts and sanctions against the state of Israel, again rejected the claims of antisemitism. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 4 Oct. 2024

If Trump loses, the Harris administration will have highly visible and vehement critics to whom a lot of people listen. —Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024

This episode, to no particular surprise, has elicited the most vehement reactions in Muslim states across the world. —Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, going back to Old French, borrowed from Latin vehement-, vehemens, vēmens "violent, vigorous, (of feelings) overmastering, powerful," perhaps from vehere "to convey, carry along, drive" + -mens, adjective suffix (as in clēmens "mild, calm") of uncertain origin

Note: Alternatively explained as a prefix vē- "faulty, excessive or deficient" and ment-, mens "mind," in which case -ehe- is an unetymological spelling of the long vowel. Though this would account for vehemens in place of *vehimens (with normal vowel weakening), the word never has the sense "mentally deranged" (the meanings of the presumed parallel formations vēcors and vēsānus).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

vehement

adjective

ve·​he·​ment ˈvē-ə-mənt 

1

: showing great force or energy

a vehement wind

2

: highly emotional

vehement patriotism

3

: forcibly expressed

vehement denials

vehemently adverb