Meanings
comparative more vehement · superlative most vehement
- Showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense.
The man made a vehement display of contempt.
3 more examples
Yet the Fiends ſeemed to come nearer and nearer, but when they were come even almoſt at him, he cried out with a moſt vehement voice, I will walk in the ſtrength of the Lord God; ſo they gave back, and came no further.
1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which is to Come: Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream wherein is Discovered, the Manner of His Setting Out, His Dangerous Journey; and Safe Arrival at the Desired Countrey, London: Printed for Nath[aniel] Ponder at the Peacock in the Poultrey near Cornhill, →OCLC, page 79Amy shook her head, vehement. "The vine didn't kill them. The Mayans did. They tried to flee and the Mayans shot them. The vine just claimed their bodies once they'd been shot. There's no thought involved in that. No—"
2006, Scott [Bechtel] Smith, The Ruins: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 236“He’s a 70-year-old childless warmonger and he has no stake in the future of this country,” Dans said. “He is the very reason that MAGA started in the first place, and we only have to look at 2016 when he was a vehement Trump hater. A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”
2025 July 28, Steve Contorno, quoting Paul Dans, “Project 2025 architect Paul Dans to challenge Lindsey Graham for Senate in South Carolina”, in CNNSynonyms: full-throated, swith
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveShowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivemarked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid
adjectivecharacterized by great force or energy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinvehemēns“vehement; very eager; ardent, furious, impetuous; emphatic”
- Middle Frenchvehement
- Englishvehement
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”).
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σφοδρός
- σφοδρός (sphodrós)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Bulgarian страстен, бурен
- страстен (strasten)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- бурен (buren)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Catalan vehement
- vehementshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Chinese Mandarin 激越, 激切
- 激越 (jīyuè)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- 激切 (jīqiè)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- 激烈 (jīliè)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Danish heftig, kraftig
- heftigshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- kraftigshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Dutch fel, heftig
- felshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- heftigshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- hartstochtelijkshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Finnish kiivas, kiihkeä
- kiivasshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- kiihkeäshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- rajushowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
French véhément
- véhémentshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
German vehement, heftig
- vehementshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- heftigshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Greek σφοδρός
- σφοδρός (sfodrós)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Hungarian vehemens
- vehemensshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Icelandic ákafur
- ákafurshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Japanese 激しい, 激烈
- 激しい (hageshii)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- 激烈 (gekiretsu)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- 猛烈 (mōretsu)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Latin flagrāns, igneus
- flagrānsshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- igneusshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- vehemēnsshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Portuguese veemente
- veementeshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Russian рья́ный, неи́стовый
- рья́ный (rʹjányj)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- неи́стовый (neístovyj)showing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Spanish vehemente
- vehementeshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Swedish häftig
- häftigshowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Turkish ateşli, hararetli
- ateşlishowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- hararetlishowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
- şiddetlishowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense
Cite this entry
vehement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vehement
“vehement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vehement. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vehement,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vehement.
Source: vehement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.