declaration

American  

[dek-luh-rey-shuhn] / ˌdɛk ləˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

declarations plural

1. the act of declaring; announcement.

   a declaration of a dividend.

2. a positive, explicit, or formal statement; proclamation.

   a declaration of war.

3. something that is announced, avowed, or proclaimed.

4. a document embodying or displaying an announcement or proclamation.

   He posted the declaration in a public place.

   Synonyms:

   edict, manifesto, bulletin, notice

5. Law.

   1. a formal statement presenting the plaintiff's claim in an action.

   2. a complaint.

   3. a statement, especially by a witness.

   4. a statement made to an official.

6. Cards.

   1. Bridge. a bid, especially the successful bid.

   2. the statement during the game of the points earned by a player, in bezique or other games.

7. a statement of goods, income, etc., especially for the assessment of duty, tax, or the like.

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declaration British  

/ ˌdɛkləˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. an explicit or emphatic statement

2. a formal statement or announcement; proclamation

3. the act of declaring

4. the ruling of a judge or court on a question of law, esp in the chancery division of the High Court

5. law an unsworn statement of a witness admissible in evidence under certain conditions See also statutory declaration

6. cricket the voluntary closure of an innings before all ten wickets have fallen

7. contract bridge the final contract

8. a statement or inventory of goods, etc, submitted for tax assessment

   a customs declaration

9. cards an announcement of points made after taking a trick, as in bezique

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterdeclaration
  noun
• nondeclaration
  noun
• predeclaration
  noun
• redeclaration
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• declarations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of declaration

1300–50; Middle English declaracioun (< Anglo-French ) < Latin dēclārātiōn- (stem of dēclārātiō ) explanation, equivalent to dēclārāt ( us ) (past participle of dēclārāre to explain, declare; see -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

An emphatic statement — either written or spoken — is called a declaration. The Continental Congress announced their intention to form a new nation when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. To declare is a verb, but when you add the suffix tion, you transform it to a noun. A formal public statement can be called a declaration. You would be making a formal declaration of your love, if you paid to have "I Love You, Alex" put on the big screen at the game. When you travel, you may need to make a declaration — a formal statement — about any taxable items you purchased outside the country when you return.

Example Sentences

He added: "It's a vanishingly rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, found not in America, but here in the UK."

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

That rare broadside is displayed alongside a more obscure document: the so-called Declaration of Dependence signed by 547 Loyalists, a reminder that political unanimity was elusive from the nation’s earliest days.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

A rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, has been discovered at The National Archives in Kew - the only known example of its kind outside the US.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

Above all, the freedom born in the Declaration still allows creative Americans to raise their families, worship as they please, pursue their livelihoods and dreams, and build a prosperous nation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

When Mr. Johnson and Daddy were done, I gave Mr. Johnson my Life Notice for Aunt Florentine, and I also gave him a letter for Declaration.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles