clamor

¹ American  

[klam-er] / ˈklæm ər /

especially British, clamour

noun

• clamors
  plural

1. 

   a loud uproar, as from a crowd of people.

   the clamor of the crowd at the gates.

2. a vehement expression of desire or dissatisfaction.

   the clamor of the proponents of the law.

   Synonyms:

   vociferation

3. popular outcry.

   The senators could not ignore the clamor against higher taxation.

4. any loud and continued noise: the clamor of birds and animals in the zoo.

   the clamor of traffic;

   the clamor of birds and animals in the zoo.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a clamor; raise an outcry.

verb (used with object)

1. to drive, force, influence, etc., by clamoring.

   The newspapers clamored him out of office.

2. to utter noisily.

   They clamored their demands at the meeting.

clamor ² American  

[klam-er] / ˈklæm ər /

verb (used with object)

Obsolete.

1. to silence.

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Spelling

See -or.

Synonym Usage

See noise.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clamorer
  noun
• clamorist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clamors
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of clamor¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English clamor (from Anglo-French ), from Latin, equivalent to clām- ( see claim) + -or -or ¹; Middle English clamour, from Middle French, from Latin clāmōr- (stem of clāmor )

Origin of clamor²

First recorded in 1605–15; perhaps spelling variant of clammer, obsolete variant of clamber in sense “to clutch,” hence “reduce to silence”

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Explanation

To clamor is to make a demand — LOUDLY. It's usually a group that clamors — like Americans might clamor for comprehensive health care coverage. The noun clamor is often used specifically to describe a noisy outcry from a group of people, but more generally, the word means any loud, harsh sound. You could describe the clamor of sirens in the night or the clamor of the approaching subway in the tunnel.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clamor clamors

More airlines are looking to add the SpaceX-owned satellite internet to their fleets as passengers clamor for fast and reliable wifi/

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

She compared Huerta to a train “rattling all the windows behind me, blaring out its horn, announcing its simultaneous arrival and departure with an incredible clamor, but rushing constantly forward.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The clamor for economic freedom in Brazil is growing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

This year the clamor is louder, more aggressive, and tinged with showy economic threats.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026

The sounds of footsteps, ugly words, insulting shouts, and whispered commands formed an echoing clamor.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

The duo continued laughing before politely declining the crowd’s clamors for an extemporaneous duet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2025

In this season of our discontent, the scene in which Richard cynically holds up a Bible as a ginned-up crowd clamors to make him king is one you may find familiar.

From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2022

Though the company still clamors for government funding and sometimes makes bold predictions it doesn’t actually see through, SpaceX continues to defy expectations with each new accomplishment.

From The Verge ● Nov. 1, 2021

Read in the context of today’s clamors for justice, the decades-old diagnoses and laments sound remarkably — and wrenchingly — fresh and relevant.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 11, 2020

An animal that barks; hence, any one who clamors unreasonably.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster

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Related Words

• agitation
• brouhaha
• buzz
• ferment
• hubbub
• noise
• outcry
• ruckus
• tumult
• upheaval
• uproar

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