definitions

commination

[ kom-uh-ney-shuh n ]
/ ˌkɒm əˈneɪ ʃən /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR commination ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

RELATED WORDS

obloquy, proscription, curse, execration, condemnation, imprecation, anathema, malediction, denunciation, excommunication, diatribe, threatening

Nearby words

commerciality, commercialization, commercialize, commie, comminate, commination, comminatory, commines, commines, philippe de, commingle, comminute

Origin of commination

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
Related formscom·mi·na·tor, nouncom·min·a·to·ry [kuh-min-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, kom-uh-nuh-] /kəˈmɪn əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈkɒm ə nə-/, com·mi·na·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for commination

British Dictionary definitions for commination

commination

/ (ˌkɒmɪˈneɪʃən) /

noun

the act or an instance of threatening punishment or vengeance
Church of England a recital of prayers, including a list of God's judgments against sinners, in the office for Ash Wednesday
Derived Formscomminatory (ˈkɒmɪnətərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

Word Origin for commination

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