proclamation
AmericanUsage
What does proclamation mean? A proclamation is an official announcement made in public. Proclamation is the noun form of the verb proclaim, meaning to announce or declare something in an official or formal manner. Proclamations are typically made by public officials. Like the similar word announcement, proclamation is often used with the verb make. Example: The mayor called a press conference to issue a proclamation declaring an official citywide day of celebration for the new champions of baseball.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of proclamation
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English proclamacioun (from Middle French proclamacion, ) from Latin prōclāmātiōn- (stem of prōclāmātiō ), equivalent to prōclāmāt(us) (past participle of prōclāmāre “to cry out, proclaim ”) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A proclamation is a formal public statement. If the mayor of your town issued a proclamation honoring the state champion field hockey team, this is an official statement of praise and celebration. A major statement made in front of an audience or the authoritative word on some subject is a proclamation. It's usually used in an official or government context, although an ordinary person can also make a proclamation, like your proclamation that you'll never dance again after your embarrassment at last week's hip hop recital. The root is proclaim, declare publicly, though the i is dropped in proclamation.
Vocabulary lists containing proclamation
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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The American Civil War
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The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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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.
Soskin’s great-grandmother, Leontine Breaux Allen, was born into slavery in Louisiana and freed by the Emancipation Proclamation.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
In 1982, Reagan issued Proclamation 4908 to declare March 21 Afghanistan Day.
From Salon • Dec. 13, 2025
On New Year’s Day of 1863, his final Emancipation Proclamation not only promised freedom to millions of slaves in the Deep South but also urged Black Americans to join the Union Army.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 4, 2025
The proclamation recognized slavery as an “inhumane practice” and the Emancipation Proclamation as having “ended its evil stain on American democracy.”
From Slate • Feb. 12, 2025
Blue used to tell him old-timey stories about how it was when the Emancipation Proclamation came.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
