clarion
Americanadjective
noun
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an ancient trumpet with a curved shape.
-
the sound of this instrument.
-
any similar sound.
noun
-
a four-foot reed stop of trumpet quality on an organ
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an obsolete, high-pitched, small-bore trumpet
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the sound of such an instrument or any similar sound
adjective
verb
Etymology
Origin of clarion
1275–1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin clāriōn- (stem of clāriō ) trumpet, equivalent to clār- clear + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you hear the clarion call of the stage, it means you want to be an actor. Clarion means loud and clear, and a clarion call is a call to something that is hard to ignore. A clarion is a medieval horn with a clear sound. Hard to ignore, but also pure and clear in tone. There's nothing shrill about a "clarion call." Martin Luther King Jr.'s clarion call for all races in the U.S. to live together in peace and harmony has lived on after his death.
Vocabulary lists containing clarion
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Now I See! Synonyms for "Clear"
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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.
In the year of the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Act, it’s worth repeating once more, and you should think of it as a a clarion call:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
He prayed that alliance would continue to defend its shared values "with our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth and across the world" and that "we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking".
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
And he raises an alarm, with clarion sharpness, about an authoritarian specter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
It’s this clarion voice that we’re hearing from her more and more.
From Slate ● May 23, 2025
“You’ve reached the voice mail of Augustus Waters,” he said, the clarion voice I’d fallen for.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
