clamor

¹ American  

[klam-er] / ˈklæm ər /

especially British, clamour

noun

• clamors
  plural

1. a loud uproar, as from a crowd of people.

   the clamor of the crowd at the gates.

2. a vehement expression of desire or dissatisfaction.

   the clamor of the proponents of the law.

   Synonyms:

   vociferation

3. popular outcry.

   The senators could not ignore the clamor against higher taxation.

4. any loud and continued noise: the clamor of birds and animals in the zoo.

   the clamor of traffic;

   the clamor of birds and animals in the zoo.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a clamor; raise an outcry.

verb (used with object)

1. to drive, force, influence, etc., by clamoring.

   The newspapers clamored him out of office.

2. to utter noisily.

   They clamored their demands at the meeting.

clamor ² American  

[klam-er] / ˈklæm ər /

verb (used with object)

Obsolete.

1. to silence.

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Spelling

See -or.

Synonym Usage

See noise.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clamorer
  noun
• clamorist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clamors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of clamor¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English clamor (from Anglo-French ), from Latin, equivalent to clām- ( see claim) + -or -or ¹; Middle English clamour, from Middle French, from Latin clāmōr- (stem of clāmor )

Origin of clamor²

First recorded in 1605–15; perhaps spelling variant of clammer, obsolete variant of clamber in sense “to clutch,” hence “reduce to silence”

Explanation

To clamor is to make a demand — LOUDLY. It's usually a group that clamors — like Americans might clamor for comprehensive health care coverage. The noun clamor is often used specifically to describe a noisy outcry from a group of people, but more generally, the word means any loud, harsh sound. You could describe the clamor of sirens in the night or the clamor of the approaching subway in the tunnel.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clamor clamors

This year the clamor is louder, more aggressive, and tinged with showy economic threats.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026

The clamor of visiting children echoes outside the concrete structure while music plays deeper within the campus where couples ballroom dance in the sun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Davenport said Tuesday that amid the clamor for protein products, the effects of higher costs for ingredients would start to show up in the second half of the year.

From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026

Stars themselves are starting to clamor to be under those lights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

Harry caught sight of a pearly white figure drifting across the entrance hall below and yelled as loudly as he could over the clamor.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

The duo continued laughing before politely declining the crowd’s clamors for an extemporaneous duet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2025

Mr. Cohen advised Silicon Valley Bank as it scrambled for a buyer and has been counseling First Republic as it clamors for a lifeline.

From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2023

Here is a closer look at what is known about the incident, the records and what is being done to make them public as a grieving community clamors for more information.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2022

Though the company still clamors for government funding and sometimes makes bold predictions it doesn’t actually see through, SpaceX continues to defy expectations with each new accomplishment.

From The Verge ● Nov. 1, 2021

Yet she hesitated, frightened by some fear conjured up from an unconscious self, like thin remembered notes of village bells, across the tumult of worldly clamors.

From The Salamander by Owen Johnson

Related Words

• agitation
• brouhaha
• buzz
• ferment
• hubbub
• noise
• outcry
• ruckus
• tumult
• upheaval
• uproar