allocution
Americannoun
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a formal speech, especially one of an incontrovertible or hortatory nature.
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a pronouncement delivered by the pope to a secret consistory, especially on a matter of policy or of general importance.
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Hayden gave two allocution statements during the trial—one for the initial charges and one for the contempt charges Hoffman brought—and used both to give speeches, but didn’t speak about the war dead.
From Slate • Oct. 15, 2020
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
When a pope speaks, after argument and urging, he is not likely to think it consonant with his dignity to give credit in allocution or bull to those who urged him.
From Peter the Hermit A Tale of Enthusiasm by Goodsell, Daniel A.
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.
