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

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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

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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

The spectators who stuck around, including Josh Levin, were “treated to a litany of scenes you don’t typically see at a Grand Slam tennis match.”

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Assembly Bill 2222, which would create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ, joins a litany of bills on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

This litany of defeat includes showy federal efforts to scuttle mergers and acquisitions involving Whole Foods and Wild Oats, AT&T and Time Warner, and Microsoft and Activision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

She had suffered a "substantial" miscarriage of justice, they said, alleging a litany of irregularities and the misuse of evidence during the trial.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 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

The advanced age of many gangsters often becomes a factor at sentencing hearings, when bids for leniency tend to rely heavily on litanies of medications, impairments, illnesses and other ravages of time.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2023

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

And so the Oprah Winfrey-produced, Reginald Hudlin-directed documentary “Sidney” ticks off litanies of both aesthetic and cultural achievements, without ever feeling obligatory.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2022

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times restaurant critic, who died a year ago this Sunday, made exuberant litanies of the city and its dishes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2019

He clucked approvingly at pictures of cute grandkids, patiently endured gossip and long litanies of health woes, and nodded knowingly at stories about how money was tight.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• catalogue
• recitation
• repetition

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