"I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King Jr.: List 2

Learn the vocabulary that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to inspire a generation to break free from the "manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King stood before an estimated quarter of a million people who had gathered to demonstrate for passage of the Civil Rights Act.

This list focuses on King's use of figurative language in paragraph 6 through the end of the speech.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. opportunity
    a possibility from a favorable combination of circumstances
    We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
  2. insufficient
    of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement
    We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
  3. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
  4. valley
    a long depression in the surface of the land
    Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
  5. discontent
    a longing for something better than the present situation
    This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
  6. invigorating
    imparting strength and vitality
    This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
  7. autumn
    the season when the leaves fall from the trees
    This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
  8. equality
    a state of being essentially equivalent
    This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
  9. righteousness
    the quality of adhering to moral principles
    No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
  10. stream
    a natural body of water flowing on or under the earth
    No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
  11. oppression
    the act of subjugating by cruelty
    I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
  12. oasis
    a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary
    I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
  13. hew
    make or shape as with an axe
    With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
  14. discord
    lack of agreement or harmony
    With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
  15. symphony
    a long and complex sonata for an orchestra
    With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
Created on Tue Jun 03 14:52:57 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 03 15:25:32 EDT 2025)

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