allocution

American  

[al-uh-kyoo-shuhn] / ˌæl əˈkyu ʃən /

noun

1. a formal speech, especially one of an incontrovertible or hortatory nature.

2. a pronouncement delivered by the pope to a secret consistory, especially on a matter of policy or of general importance.

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allocution British  

/ ˌæləˈkjuːʃən /

noun

1. rhetoric a formal or authoritative speech or address, esp one that advises, informs, or exhorts

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Etymology

Origin of allocution

1605–15; < Latin allocūtiōn- (stem of allocūtiō ), equivalent to allocūt ( us ), past participle of alloquī to speak to, address ( al- al- + locū- speak + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Durst declined to give an allocution for the crime.

From Fox News • Oct. 14, 2021

But at his Friday sentencing hearing for Floyd’s murder, Chauvin’s allocution lasted just 36 seconds.

From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2021

He offered a law professor’s allocution on the subject of foreign-born citizens’ eligibility for the American presidency.

From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2016

Heinrich Himmler himself, the Reichsfuehrer of the SS, expressed this notion in an allocution set out in detail.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2015

The allocution briefly enumerates the several acts of aggression successively committed by the Piedmontese.

From Pius IX. And His Time by Dawson, Æneas MacDonell