proclamation

A proclamation is an official announcement made in public.

Proclamation is the noun form of the verb proclaim, meaning to announce or declare something in an official or formal manner. Proclamations are typically made by public officials.

Like the similar word announcement, proclamation is often used with the verb make.

Example: The mayor called a press conference to issue a proclamation declaring an official citywide day of celebration for the new champions of baseball.

The first records of proclamation come from the 1300s. It comes from the Latin word prōclāmātiōnem, from the verb prōclāmāre, meaning “to proclaim.”

Proclamation is most often used in an official government context, and proclamations are typically made by a person in a position of authority. In the past, proclamations were issued by kings and queens and often constituted a new law—picture a royal herald reading from a scroll. The most famous proclamation in the history of the United States is the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, in which President Abraham Lincoln officially declared that the people enslaved in the territories rebelling against the Union were “forever free.”

While most proclamations made today in the U.S. are by government officials, they often don’t carry much weight. In many cases, an official government announcement called a proclamation is essentially symbolic, especially when it’s issued to recognize a person’s contributions to a city or to commemorate an event. Such proclamations often use words like whereas or be it resolved.

Proclamation is sometimes used in a casual and humorous way that’s intended to imply the kind of authority held by a government leader or monarch, as in Let it be known that I’m making the proclamation that the leftovers in the fridge are mine and mine alone, and violation of this sacred contract is punishable by death.

What are some other forms related to proclamation?

• re-proclamation (noun)
• pronouncement (noun)
• proclaim (verb)

What are some synonyms for proclamation?

• announcement
• decree
• declaration
• pronouncement

What are some words that share a root or word element with proclamation? 

• proclaim
• claim

What are some words that often get used in discussing proclamation?

• official
• public
• formal
• statement
• authority 
• declare 
• edict

Proclamation is most commonly associated with the kind of formal announcements made by government officials or politicians—or, historically, by kings or queens or their royal heralds. For that reason, it is sometimes used humorously to suggest that the person speaking has such authority.

Happy #WorldAutismDay and thank you @cityofokc and @davidfholt for this proclamation! 💙🧩 pic.twitter.com/xT4ClcjhWz

— Oklahoma Autism Center Foundation (@OKACFoundation) April 2, 2020

Proclamation against breaking or defacing monuments of antiquity, by Elizabeth I, 19 September 1560. From archives of the College of Arms pic.twitter.com/q7kgElScbb

— Peter O'Donoghue (@yorkherald) April 2, 2020

the queen has made a proclamation! https://t.co/FAQAlUxonf

— Nanning Bee (@NanningBee) July 28, 2018

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of proclamation? 

A. announcement
B. decree
C. secret
D. pronouncement