annunciation

American  

[uh-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn] / əˌnʌn siˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. (often initial capital letter) the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ.

2. (initial capital letter) a representation of this in art.

3. Also called Lady Day.  (initial capital letter) the church festival on March 25 in memory of this.

4. an act or instance of announcing; proclamation.

   the annunciation of a new foreign policy.

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Annunciation British  

/ əˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. New Testament the announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38)

2. Also called: Annunciation Day.  the festival commemorating this, held on March 25 (Lady Day)

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Annunciation Cultural  

1. An announcement made by the angel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus, that she was going to bear a son, even though she was a virgin. Her son was to be called Jesus.

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Etymology

Origin of annunciation

1350–1400; Middle English an ( n ) unciacio ( u ) n (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin annūnciātiōn-, stem of annūnciātiō, for Late Latin adnūntiātiō; annunciate, -ion

Example Sentences

To MacFarlane, this image could be "an annunciation scene from Giotto".

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2019

The concert began with Ms. Bullock, standing under an apse depicting the Archangel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary, reciting an English translation of Rosario Castellanos’s poem “La Anunciación” over a cello drone.

From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2018

Such a very public naming of the dead, an annunciation of our universal mortality, would be an act of revelation in the Anglo-Saxon world.

From The Guardian • Sep. 9, 2017

The grand words of annunciation with which Kushner’s play culminates—“Greetings Prophet; / The Great Work begins: / The Messenger has arrived”—are delivered by the Angel with conversational mildness.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 26, 2015

Like an angel of the annunciation, Mother Ermentrude spreads her arms and folds her hands over my head.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein