Adjacent Words

Denounce definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DENOUNCE, v.t. [L. To tell, or declare.]
1. To declare solemnly; to proclaim in a threatening manner; to announce or declare, as a threat.
I denounce to you this day, that ye shall surely perish. Deutoronomy 30.
So we say, to denounce war; to denounce wrath.
2. To threaten by some outward sign, or expression.
His look denounced revenge.
3. To inform against; to accuse; as, to denounce one for neglect of duty.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: speak out against; "He denounced the Nazis"
2: to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful; "He denounced the government action"; "She was stigmatized by society because she had a child out of wedlock" [syn: stigmatize, stigmatise, brand, denounce, mark]
3: announce the termination of, as of treaties
4: give away information about somebody; "He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: denounce, tell on, betray, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stag]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (denounced; denouncing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French denuncier to proclaim, from Latin denuntiare, from de- + nuntiare to report — more at announce Date: 13th century 1. to pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil <they denounced him as a bigot> 2. archaic a. proclaim b. to announce threateningly 3. to inform against ; accuse 4. obsolete portend 5. to announce formally the termination of (as a treaty) Synonyms: see criticize • denouncement noun • denouncer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 accuse publicly; condemn (denounced him as a traitor). 2 inform against (denounced her to the police). 3 give notice of the termination of (an armistice, treaty, etc.). Derivatives: denouncement n. denouncer n. Etymology: ME f. OF denoncier f. L denuntiare (as DE-, nuntiare make known f. nuntius messenger)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Denounce De*nounce", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Denounced; p. pr. & vb. n. Denouncing.] [F. d['e]noncer, OF. denoncier, fr. L. denuntiare, denunciare; de- + nunciare, nuntiare, to announce, report, nuntius a messenger, message. See Nuncio, and cf. Denunciate.] 1. To make known in a solemn or official manner; to declare; to proclaim (especially an evil). [Obs.] Denouncing wrath to come. --Milton. I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish. --Deut. xxx. 18. 2. To proclaim in a threatening manner; to threaten by some outward sign or expression. His look denounced desperate. --Milton. 3. To point out as deserving of reprehension or punishment, etc.; to accuse in a threatening manner; to invoke censure upon; to stigmatize. Denounced for a heretic. --Sir T. More. To denounce the immoralities of Julius C[ae]sar. --Brougham.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(denounces, denouncing, denounced) 1. If you denounce a person or an action, you criticize them severely and publicly because you feel strongly that they are wrong or evil. German leaders denounced the attacks and pleaded for tolerance... Some 25,000 demonstrators denounced him as a traitor. VERB: V n, V n as n/adj 2. If you denounce someone who has broken a rule or law, you report them to the authorities. ...informers who might denounce you at any moment. VERB: V n, also V n to n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

de-nouns': Occurs in De 30:18: "I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish." It is used here in the obsolete sense of "to declare," to make known in a solemn manner. It is not found in the Bible with the regular meaning of "to censure," "arraign," etc.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Threaten, menace. 2. Brand, stigmatize, arraign, upbraid, censure. 3. Inform against, accuse, lay information or charges against.

Moby Thesaurus

accuse, allege, anathematize, anathemize, animadvert on, arraign, article, assail, attack, attaint, be imminent, betray, blacklist, blame, bludgeon, book, brand, bring accusation, bring charges, bring home to, bring to book, bulldoze, call to account, cast blame upon, cast reflection upon, censure, charge, cite, comminate, complain, complain against, condemn, convict, criticize, cry down, cry out against, cry out on, cry shame upon, damn, decry, denunciate, doom, excommunicate, fasten on, fasten upon, find guilty, finger, forebode, fulminate against, hang something on, impeach, implicate, imply, impugn, impute, incriminate, indict, inform, inform against, inform on, insinuate, intimidate, inveigh against, knock, lay charges, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint, look threatening, lower, menace, pass sentence on, penalize, pillory, pin on, prefer charges, press charges, pronounce judgment, pronounce sentence, proscribe, put on report, rap, reflect upon, report, reprehend, reproach, reprobate, reveal, revile, ridicule, sentence, shake up, skin, stigmatize, take to task, task, taunt with, tax, threaten, twit, utter threats against, vilify, vituperate, warn