Meaning, in detail
A soliloquy is speech directed to oneself. In drama, it lets a character voice thoughts that the other characters do not hear, while the audience gains access to the character’s private reasoning.
The word can also describe talking to yourself outside the theatre. What matters is the direction of the speech: it is not a conversation in which another person is expected to respond.
Pronunciation
suh-LIL-uh-kwee
IPA transcription or a simplified reading guide. Pronunciation can vary with accent.Where does it come from?
Late Latin soliloquium joins solus, alone, with loqui, to speak. The two roots make the basic meaning easy to remember.
Use it in a sentence
Her soliloquy exposed doubts that she had concealed in the previous scene.
While looking for his keys, he began a quiet soliloquy.Original examples written for Puzzoria.
Did you know?
The audience’s presence does not make a soliloquy a dialogue. In a play, listening to it can give spectators information that no other character possesses.