an act of saying something forcefully or complaining about something

Ignoring my protestations, they went ahead and chopped the tree down. 他们不理睬我的抗议，继续砍个不停，把树砍倒了。

Their protestations of loyalty seem rather hollow in view of the way they behaved. 从他们的表现来看，他们表示效忠的豪言壮语显得很空洞。