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declamation

[dek-luh-mey-shuh n]
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noun
  1. the act or art of declaiming.
  2. exercise in oratory or elocution, as in the recitation of a classic speech.
  3. speech or writing for oratorical effect.
  4. Music. the proper enunciation of the words, as in recitative.
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Origin of declamation

1350–1400; < Latin dēclāmātiōn- (stem of dēclāmātiō), equivalent to dēclāmāt(us) (past participle of dēclāmāre to declaim; see -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

lecturetiradespeechorationaddressoratoryspouting

Examples from the Web for declamation

Historical Examples

  • It was only yesterday morning Master Jones decided to have declamation to-day.

    The Universal Reciter

    Various

  • The air of the New World seems favourable to the art of declamation.

  • In contrast to Kemble's declamation, Kean's acting was vehement and passionate.

    The Facts About Shakespeare

    William Allan Nielson

  • As he advanced in his declamation, his ardour seemed to increase.

    Waverley

    Sir Walter Scott

  • In this year he obtained the first college prize for an English declamation.

    Spare Hours

    John Brown

British Dictionary definitions for declamation

declamation

noun
  1. a rhetorical or emotional speech, made esp in order to protest or condemn; tirade
  2. a speech, verse, etc, that is or can be spoken
  3. the act or art of declaiming
  4. music the artistry or technique involved in singing recitative passages
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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

Word Origin and History for declamation

n.

late 14c., from Latin declamationem (nominative declamatio), noun of action from past participle stem of declamare (see declaim).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper