denounce
Americanverb (used with object)
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denounces,
present (3rd person singular)
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denounced,
past participle, past
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denouncing
present participle
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to condemn or censure openly or publicly.
to denounce a politician as morally corrupt.
- Synonyms:
- brand, blame, stigmatize, attack
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to make a formal accusation against, as to the police or in a court.
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to give formal notice of the termination or denial of (a treaty, pact, agreement, or the like).
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Archaic. to announce or proclaim, especially as something evil or calamitous.
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Obsolete. to portend.
verb
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to deplore or condemn openly or vehemently
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to give information against; accuse
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to announce formally the termination of (a treaty, etc)
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obsolete
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to announce (something evil)
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to portend
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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denouncesimple
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denouncessimple
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have denouncedperfect
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has denouncedperfect
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am denouncingprogressive
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are denouncingprogressive
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is denouncingprogressive
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have been denouncingperfect progressive
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has been denouncingperfect progressive
Past
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denouncedsimple
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had denouncedperfect
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was denouncingprogressive
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were denouncingprogressive
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had been denouncingperfect progressive
Future
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”)
Explanation
To denounce is to tattle, rat out, or speak out against something. When you stand on your desk and tell the class that your partner is cheating, you denounce him or her. The prefix de- means "down," as in destroy or demolish (tear down). Add that to the Latin root nuntiare, meaning "announce," and de- plus announce equals denounce. It's a word that shows up in the headlines often, as a country might denounce a corrupt election. Politicians love to denounce the shady behavior or their opponents. Denounce can also mean the official end of something, like a treaty.
Vocabulary lists containing denounce
Grade 9, List 4
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Persepolis
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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.
See Examples For:
"From today, you will have to watch over your villages," Gombagui told around 100 local officials gathered in the village of Tibeita on a recent morning, urging them to "denounce" the prospectors and their accomplices.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The state’s outgoing U.S. senator, Republican John Cornyn, was also quick to denounce French.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Oyo's family quickly called a press conference to denounce the announcement, insisting the late king's written wishes should be respected.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
It invited comparisons with Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech, and went down so badly that he had to publicly denounce his own words some time later.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
Even Pilar couldn’t denounce her for being a hypocrite.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Perhaps he should review the lesson of “Four O’Clock,” a third-season episode of “The Twilight Zone” in which a political fanatic denounces people he considers evil and suffers a comeuppance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
It denounces the judge’s “attempts to strip RIH of its ability to participate in these proceedings, and, by extension, to sever this court from the party whose rights are directly at stake.”
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
The government denounces attempts to "discredit" Smart Sampa, boasting the city had seen a nearly 15 percent drop in robberies in 2025.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
Even Puerto Ricans who don't share the singer's background feel proud of how his music denounces our struggles while symbolising our culture and identity.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Indeed, one of the books found in the bus with his remains was a collection of stories that included Tolstoy’s "The Kreutzer Sonata,” in which the nobleman-turned-ascetic denounces "the demands of the flesh.”
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
In a social media post, Macron denounced the violence and said that vandals and looters will be "prosecuted and punished".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Fulton Sheen likewise fiercely denounced communism and Nazism, as well as the cultural decay he believed left the West vulnerable to tyranny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Surrounded by hooded police officers, Claudia Pardo, head of communications for the prosecutor's office, denounced the raid as "illegal."
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The merger has been unpopular in Hollywood and critics denounced the settlement as weak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
When other nations failed to limit their own forces, Germany denounced the arms restrictions that had been imposed upon it and began to rearm in earnest.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Times with a big picture of me, sort of denouncing me.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
In 2020, she was among a cross-section of public figures who signed an open letter denouncing cancel culture, saying it weakens open debate by shutting people down.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
A coalition of religious and interfaith groups led by Washington-based Indian American Muslim Council intends to protest Saturday’s event and has a van with video monitors plying Manhattan streets denouncing it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“We will never get tired of denouncing this atrocity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
I had blown up and acted personally instead of denouncing the significance of the dolls, him, the obscene idea, and seizing the opportunity to educate the crowd.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
