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)
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proclamatoryadjective
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self-proclaimedadjective
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self-proclaimingadjective
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unproclaimedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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proclaimsimple
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proclaimssimple
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have proclaimedperfect
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has proclaimedperfect
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am proclaimingprogressive
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are proclaimingprogressive
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is proclaimingprogressive
-
have been proclaimingperfect progressive
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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:
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
Middle East analysts interpreted the move as a signal that Hamas may be willing to engage, but cautioned that it was too early to proclaim progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
After overcoming each temptation, he goes to Galilee to proclaim God’s word.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Let us proclaim that, oh, teams can’t land back-to-back No. 1 picks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Now was her chance to proclaim in public all the private anguish and purge herself of all that she had done wrong.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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
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
“I don’t want a break, I want to stop,” Ilana proclaims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
As Mama drops our samosas into the spattering oil, Elizabeth proclaims, “Hey! It’s a Pakistani knish!”
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Near the mouth of a river, in Powhatan territory, the colonists erected a cross and proclaimed England’s King James I the rightful owner of the place, which they called Jamestown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I don’t even have any other assets at all—stocks, bonds, anything like that, savings accounts,” he proclaimed under oath.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Their friends and brothers-in-arms loudly proclaimed they accepted the oath.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Unification Church, known formally as The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was founded in South Korea in the 1950s by Sun Myung Moon, who proclaimed himself the messiah.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
In a boldly written article in American Anthropologist in 1954, Meggers proclaimed the implications: There is a force at work to which man through his culture must bow.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
"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
A no-doubter, proclaiming that his availability was no longer in doubt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
But we too embrace faulty causes, usually at the urging of an expert proclaiming a truth in which he has a vested interest.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
