speak at someone—speak to a person without paying attention to his reaction:
- Is this person listening to me? Is he speaking at me, down to me, or with me? Is this a caring person I can trust?
speak to someone—
1. address a person:
- The skinny ugly woman suddenly spoke to me: “You like black women?” I was shocked at the out-of-nowhere question.
2. (also: speak with someone) have a conversation with a person:
- She had to speak to them in Urdu and they probably only knew Kashmiri.
3. (also: speak with someone) admonish or scold a person:
- Your secretary was late again this morning—you’d better speak to her about it.
4. make a speech directed to an audience:
- It was announced that the Prime Minister would speak to the nation on television.