adjuration
Americannoun
-
an earnest request; entreaty.
-
a solemn or desperate urging or counseling.
an adjuration for all citizens of the beleaguered city to take shelter.
Etymology
Origin of adjuration
1605–15; < Latin adjūrātiōn- (stem of adjūrātiō ), equivalent to adjūrāt ( us ), past participle of adjūrāre to adjure + -ion- -ion
Explanation
Use the noun adjuration to describe the serious, whole-hearted way you begged your parents to let you have a puppy when you were little. During your adjuration to get that puppy, did you say, "I swear I'll feed it and walk it every day! I swear to clean up after it!"? If so, you were really in tune with the origin of adjuration, the Latin ad- or "to" and jurare, "swear" — in the sense of taking an oath of honesty. Adjuration involves both begging and promising.
Vocabulary lists containing adjuration
Frankenstein
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Wuthering Heights
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Novel Study: Frankenstein, Chapters 14–24
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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.
The solemn adjuration was put, the question asked, and Aymer in an audible voice replied, “I will.”
From World's End A Story in Three Books by Richard Jefferies
Feminine Oaths.—Among the number of feminine expletives may be reckoned Ophelia’s adjuration “by Gis.”
From A Cursory History of Swearing by Julian Sharman
"Not too many of you," was his final adjuration, as, giving me a look, he slipped out into the hall.
From The Amethyst Box by Anna Katherine Green
The adjuration spoke volumes, and for a few moments the old man stood there as if in a catalyptic state.
From The Haute Noblesse A Novel by George Manville Fenn
Whether this impassioned adjuration had any special effect upon the patient is uncertain, but as he opened his eyes, he smiled faintly in acknowledgment of the sympathetic words.
From The Crooked Stick or Pollies's Probation by Rolf Boldrewood
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.
