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tr.v. be·spoke (-spōk), be·spo·ken (-spōkən) or be·spoke, be·speak·ing, be·speaks 1. a. To be or give a sign of; indicate: "Their impeccable coiffures bespoke a recent trip to the beauty parlor" (Daniel B. Silver). See Synonyms at indicate. b. To foretell; portend: "He salutes them with a stricken look, as if their arrival bespeaks doom for him" (Edna O'Brien). 2. a. To engage, hire, or order in advance: "Some of the volumes that she had just bespoken the bookseller was to send to foreign countries" (Henry James). See Synonyms at book1. b. To request: bespeak a favor. 3. Archaic To speak to; address. [Middle English bispeken, to speak out, from Old English besprecan, to speak about.] |
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