declaration

American  

[dek-luh-rey-shuhn] / ˌdɛk ləˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• declarations
  plural

1. the act of declaring; announcement.

   a declaration of a dividend.

2. a positive, explicit, or formal statement; proclamation.

   a declaration of war.

3. something that is announced, avowed, or proclaimed.

4. a document embodying or displaying an announcement or proclamation.

   He posted the declaration in a public place.

   Synonyms:

   edict, manifesto, bulletin, notice

5. Law.

   1. a formal statement presenting the plaintiff's claim in an action.

   2. a complaint.

   3. a statement, especially by a witness.

   4. a statement made to an official.

6. Cards.

   1. Bridge. a bid, especially the successful bid.

   2. the statement during the game of the points earned by a player, in bezique or other games.

7. a statement of goods, income, etc., especially for the assessment of duty, tax, or the like.

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declaration British  

/ ˌdɛkləˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. an explicit or emphatic statement

2. a formal statement or announcement; proclamation

3. the act of declaring

4. the ruling of a judge or court on a question of law, esp in the chancery division of the High Court

5. law an unsworn statement of a witness admissible in evidence under certain conditions See also statutory declaration

6. cricket the voluntary closure of an innings before all ten wickets have fallen

7. contract bridge the final contract

8. a statement or inventory of goods, etc, submitted for tax assessment

   a customs declaration

9. cards an announcement of points made after taking a trick, as in bezique

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterdeclaration
  noun
• nondeclaration
  noun
• predeclaration
  noun
• redeclaration
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• declarations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of declaration

1300–50; Middle English declaracioun (< Anglo-French ) < Latin dēclārātiōn- (stem of dēclārātiō ) explanation, equivalent to dēclārāt ( us ) (past participle of dēclārāre to explain, declare; see -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

An emphatic statement — either written or spoken — is called a declaration. The Continental Congress announced their intention to form a new nation when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. To declare is a verb, but when you add the suffix tion, you transform it to a noun. A formal public statement can be called a declaration. You would be making a formal declaration of your love, if you paid to have "I Love You, Alex" put on the big screen at the game. When you travel, you may need to make a declaration — a formal statement — about any taxable items you purchased outside the country when you return.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

declaration declarations

The SCO's founding declaration says the group is "not an alliance directed against other states".

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Her diaristic approach to songwriting also gave birth to hits like Jolene – written about a red-headed love rival – and All I Can Do, a heartfelt declaration of love to her husband, Carl Dean.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

His letter also includes a declaration from a law professor who studies real-estate finance, Kathleen Engel of Suffolk University, stating that the evidence against Cook the White House has presented doesn’t show intentional wrongdoing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Earlier this year, Reform-led Wakefield Council voted to rescind its climate and biodiversity emergency declaration from May 2019.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

“All righty then,” Todd says, sweeping the jewelry from the counter and clearly as uncomfortable with G’ma’s declaration as Scoob is.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

A tool to collect data independently, rather than relying solely on companies' own declarations, is under development, Lefevre's office said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

For a lawsuit to go forward under the Child Victims Act, two declarations must be filed under seal to the court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Doctors can’t make definitive declarations about legal capacity, but they can share important medical insights about your loved one’s cognitive condition, mental status and ability to understand information.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

A filing from late June included declarations from former classmates that Doe’s attorney, Zach Rosenblatt, said corroborated his client’s claims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

One of the old declarations of the medieval Aristotelian doctrine—as strong as the ban on the vacuum—was the statement that Earth was unique.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife