proclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
-
proclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
proclaimed,
past participle, past
-
proclaiming
present participle
-
to announce or declare in an official or formal manner.
to proclaim war.
- Synonyms:
- advertise
-
to announce or declare in an open or ostentatious way.
to proclaim one's opinions.
- Synonyms:
- promulgate
-
to indicate or make known publicly or openly.
-
to extol or praise publicly.
Let them proclaim the Lord.
-
to declare (a territory, district, etc.) subject to particular legal restrictions.
-
to declare to be an outlaw, evildoer, or the like.
-
to denounce or prohibit publicly.
verb (used without object)
-
proclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
proclaimed,
past participle, past
-
proclaiming
present participle
verb
-
(may take a clause as object) to announce publicly
-
(may take a clause as object) to show or indicate plainly
-
to praise or extol
Synonym Usage
See announce.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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proclaimernoun
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proclamationnoun
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reproclaimverb (used with object)
-
proclamatoryadjective
-
self-proclaimedadjective
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self-proclaimingadjective
-
unproclaimedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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proclaimsimple
-
proclaimssimple
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have proclaimedperfect
-
has proclaimedperfect
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am proclaimingprogressive
-
are proclaimingprogressive
-
is proclaimingprogressive
-
have been proclaimingperfect progressive
-
has been proclaimingperfect progressive
Past
-
proclaimedsimple
-
had proclaimedperfect
-
was proclaimingprogressive
-
were proclaimingprogressive
-
had been proclaimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of proclaim
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prōclāmāre “to cry out”; equivalent to pro- 1 + claim
Explanation
"I proclaim the Olympic Games open." Every two years with words similar to these, the Olympic games officially begin. To proclaim is to exclaim or declare. When you proclaim something, you are saying it loud and clear and in public. A doctor can proclaim you healthy after you have recovered from a long illness. The panel of judges may have trouble proclaiming the winner in a very tight race. What you are saying out loud can be called a proclamation. Proclamations were once only made by Kings or other ruling leaders which is why the word proclaim has an official feeling to it.
Vocabulary lists containing proclaim
Power Prefix: pro
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We are here to proclaim Luque's innocence, not with television slogans, but with the evidence that supports it," Rallin said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Nor—to put it mildly—do prosecutors publicly proclaim that they hold accusers in their “heart” and “prayers.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The rapid advances in AI spurred some industry leaders to proclaim that machine intelligence would wipe out millions of jobs almost overnight.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
After overcoming each temptation, he goes to Galilee to proclaim God’s word.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
To the north a falcon wheeled slowly over the shining walls of Pharaoh’s palace, as if to proclaim the presence within of the royal god-king he symbolized.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
You also have another series, called The Best of AI: Animation, that calls its entries “human in spirit” and proclaims that “another cinematic language is being written right now.”
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
Cunningham proclaims herself as a warrior for “common sense” by fighting off a scourge that no one can see.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Borrowed from its Weimar-era predecessor, it proclaims Sundays and holidays “days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Abrams even has a song called The Knife, where she proclaims she'll live with a blade "in my side", as an act of defiance.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
"Ah, but when the queen proclaims one king and the Hand another, whose peace do they protect?"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
After Sept. 11, 2001, in the financial crisis of 2008-09 and during the Covid crash of 2020, financial pundits proclaimed that nothing would ever be the same again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The protest organising committee, which calls itself SADAR, meaning "aware" in Bahasa Indonesia, said the action was meant to mark a "revolution that is being proclaimed".
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
It began to unfold decades ago, well before Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the “end of history.”
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
They did their best to laugh off a typo on the T-shirts fans received that proclaimed the team as the 2026-2027 champions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Forty-eight years earlier, following Germany’s victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the now-defunct German Empire had been proclaimed in the same ornate hall.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The married man contacts her years after a chance meeting at a party, proclaiming himself a fan of her writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
"It's a serious storm," Governor Josh Green said, proclaiming a state of emergency to ensure the state and its counties "have sufficient resources to clear debris, secure infrastructure, and take other measures to prepare."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
But Platner has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, proclaiming himself a changed man.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Black-clad Turkish police on street corners, giant blue banners proclaiming "The Key to Peace" and a ceremonial welcome for Donald Trump.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
On narrow cobblestone streets, he walked past bakeries and cheese shops and butcher shops, each with a hand-carved or painted sign hanging outside and proclaiming its function in Gothic script: Bdckerei, Kdserei, Fleischerei.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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