litany

American  

[lit-n-ee] / ˈlɪt n i /

noun

• litanies
  plural

1. a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.

2. the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.

3. a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.

4. a prolonged or tedious account.

   We heard the whole litany of their complaints.

   Synonyms:

   enumeration, catalog, list

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litany British  

/ ˈlɪtənɪ /

noun

1. Christianity

   1. a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response

   2. the general supplication in this form included in the Book of Common Prayer

2. any long or tedious speech or recital

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litany Cultural  

1. In many religions, a ritual repetition of prayers. Usually a clergyman or singer chants a prayer, and the congregation makes a response, such as “Lord, have mercy.”

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• litanies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of litany

before 900; < Late Latin litanīa < Late Greek litaneía litany, Greek: an entreating, equivalent to litan- (stem of litaínein, variant of litaneúein to pray) + -eia -y ³; replacing Middle English letanie, Old English letanīa < Medieval Latin, Late Latin, as above

Explanation

A litany is a long, repetitive list or series of grievances, like your picky brother's litany of complaints about dinner or the litany of critical comments your English teacher writes in the margins of your essay. The original meaning of litany is a purely religious one. During some Christian services, a member of the clergy recites a litany, a lengthy call-and-response type of prayer. The word's Greek root means "entreaty," and in this religious context, that's an entreaty to God. Its more popular, secular meaning tends to be used in a negative way, as in your grandpa's litany of aches and pains or the litany of complaints from passengers on a stalled subway car.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

litany litanies

Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, said on Wednesday that Levy's second murder "could have been avoided had the state not failed" and that the case displayed a "litany of failures".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told the BBC there had been a "litany of failures".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

The president started his speech with a litany of boasts.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

They have voiced a litany of complaints about the unfairness of El Chapo’s prosecution and requested that he be sent back to Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

I spat a litany of things I’ll never repeat for the rest of my life, and he cowered and stared down into the dirt.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely

LeBlanc never moves her camera away from the ground level; there are no policy prescriptions, no litanies of statistics and no melodramatic statements about pity or persistence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025

Because these kinds of litanies are not rare, I get why actor, writer, and producer Issa Rae, the woman behind "Insecure" and "Rap Sh!t," is over it.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2023

The emails that straggle through are litanies of the wreckage he’s seeing every day, interspersed with guilt and remorse at their separation.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2021

Some litanies were designed to be prayed while processing, or walking around, said Bishop Jeffrey Lee, the interim bishop of Milwaukee and a member of the group.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2021

Whether there was any truth to Boori Ma’s litanies no one could be sure.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• catalogue
• recitation
• repetition