denounce
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to condemn or censure openly or publicly.
to denounce a politician as morally corrupt.
- Synonyms:
- brand, blame, stigmatize, attack
-
to make a formal accusation against, as to the police or in a court.
-
to give formal notice of the termination or denial of (a treaty, pact, agreement, or the like).
-
Archaic. to announce or proclaim, especially as something evil or calamitous.
-
Obsolete. to portend.
verb
-
to deplore or condemn openly or vehemently
-
to give information against; accuse
-
to announce formally the termination of (a treaty, etc)
-
obsolete
-
to announce (something evil)
-
to portend
-
Other Word Forms
- denouncement noun
- denouncer noun
- undenounced adjective
Etymology
Origin of denounce
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English denouncen, from Old French denoncier “to speak out,” from Latin dēnuntiāre “to threaten,” literally, “to announce from,” from dē- de- + nuntiāre “to announce” (derivative of nuntius “messenger”)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Iran’s government denounced the attacks, calling them a breach of the U.N.
From Salon
Greenpeace categorically rejects the accusations, denouncing the proceedings as abusive and a means to silence dissent.
From Barron's
Cuba's interior ministry has in the past denounced other incursions into its territorial waters by privately owned US boats it said were engaged in smuggling Cubans from the Caribbean island to the US.
From BBC
But Ksenofontov has been denounced by families of men who died in his unit.
From BBC
"It's more comfortable for me because I know that I will not betray myself and not denounce myself."
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
