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View synonyms for commination

commination

[ kom-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

  1. a threat of punishment or vengeance.
  2. a denunciation.
  3. (in the Church of England) a penitential office read on Ash Wednesday in which God's anger and judgments are proclaimed against sinners.


commination

/ -trɪ; ˈkɒmɪnətərɪ; ˌkɒmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act or an instance of threatening punishment or vengeance
  2. Church of England a recital of prayers, including a list of God's judgments against sinners, in the office for Ash Wednesday
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • comminatory, adjective
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Other Words From

  • commi·nator noun
  • com·min·a·to·ry [k, uh, -, min, -, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, kom, -, uh, -n, uh, -], commi·native adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of commination1

1400–50; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin comminātiōn- (stem of comminātīo ), equivalent to commināt ( us ), past participle of comminārī to threaten ( com- com- + minārī to threaten) + -iōn- -ion
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Word History and Origins

Origin of commination1

C15: from Latin comminātiō, from comminārī to menace, from com- (intensive) + minārī to threaten
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Example Sentences

Then follows a commination at the end, which is not unusual in such cases.

They toiled upward with stubborn determination, and wasted breath in voluble commination of the length of the way, when they could have employed it more usefully in compassing it.

Nowhere, however, in this Epistle is there any trace of an established ministry; on the contrary, at the close, the 'spiritual' among them are instructed to administer the office of commination.

His method is to ask at once more than human nature can be expected to give, and then pour out a whole commination service of anathemas when his demands are not complied with.

Then Oliver had a try; but in a minute he, too, was reciting the commination service.

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