declare
Americanverb (used with object)
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declares,
present (3rd person singular)
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declared,
past participle, past
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declaring
present participle
-
to make known or state clearly, especially in explicit or formal terms.
to declare one's position in a controversy.
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to announce officially; proclaim.
to declare a state of emergency; to declare a winner.
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to state emphatically.
He declared that the allegation was a lie.
- Synonyms:
- state, asseverate, aver
- Antonyms:
- deny
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to manifest; reveal; show.
Her attendance at the rally declared her political allegiance.
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to make due statement of, especially goods for duty or income for taxation.
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to make (a dividend) payable.
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Bridge. to bid (a trump suit or no-trump).
verb (used without object)
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declares,
present (3rd person singular)
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declared,
past participle, past
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declaring
present participle
-
to make a declaration.
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to proclaim oneself (usually followed by for oragainst ).
He declared against the proposal.
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Cricket. (of a team) to surrender a turn at bat in an innings before ten players are put out.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to make clearly known or announce officially
to declare one's interests
war was declared
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to state officially that (a person, fact, etc) is as specified
he declared him fit
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(may take a clause as object) to state emphatically; assert
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to show, reveal, or manifest
the heavens declare the glory of God
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(intr; often foll by for or against) to make known one's choice or opinion
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to make a complete statement of (dutiable goods, etc)
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(also intr) cards
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to display (a card or series of ards) on the table so as to add to one's score
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to decide (the trump suit) by making the final bid
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(intr) cricket to close an innings voluntarily before all ten wickets have fallen
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to authorize the payment of (a dividend) from corporate net profit
Synonym Usage
Declare, affirm, assert, protest imply making something known emphatically, openly, or formally. To declare is to make known, sometimes in the face of actual or potential contradiction: to declare someone the winner of a contest. To affirm is to make a statement based on one's reputation for knowledge or veracity, or so related to a generally recognized truth that denial is not likely: to affirm the necessity of high standards. To assert is to state boldly, usually without other proof than personal authority or conviction: to assert that the climate is changing. To protest is to affirm publicly, as if in the face of doubt: to protest that a newspaper account is misleading.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misdeclareverb
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predeclareverb (used with object)
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redeclareverb (used with object)
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declarableadjective
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undeclarableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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declaresimple
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declaressimple
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have declaredperfect
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has declaredperfect
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am declaringprogressive
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are declaringprogressive
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is declaringprogressive
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have been declaringperfect progressive
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has been declaringperfect progressive
Past
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declaredsimple
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had declaredperfect
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was declaringprogressive
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were declaringprogressive
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had been declaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of declare
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English declaren, from Latin dēclārāre “to announce, make evident, reveal,” from dē- de- + clārāre “to make clear” (from clārus clear )
Explanation
If you declare victory, you are ending a war by saying you have won. Hopefully, the other side agrees, or your troops might declare you a fool. To declare is to state clearly and officially. In elections, the government body that counts the votes declares the winner. Until the declaration is made, the results are not official. When you are traveling, you might be asked if you have anything to declare. You're not being asked for a statement of your beliefs, rather they want to know if you bought anything taxable abroad. If you hear your grandmother say, "Well, I declare!" you can be sure she is shocked and offended.
Vocabulary lists containing declare
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 4
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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 group is demanding that the government declare a national emergency to unlock more resources to fight wildfires across the vast archipelago.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
It is too soon to declare mission accomplished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
This is not out of character; his habit is to prematurely declare victory in everything, apparently assuming that the force of his declaration makes it a reality.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
Our reporter had by this time told Alias he had found someone in the Kurdish Region of Iraq ready to declare they were the owner of the mini-mart business.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
One army abandons the field almost immediately after the first blow has been struck; its opponents declare victory and are rapidly joined by deserters from the other side.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
“I’ve got vengeance in my heart,” he declares.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
"I am the man you left for dead. I am the one you pretended never existed," he declares.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It declares an El Nino when temperatures there run at least 0.5C above normal and the atmosphere responds, weakening the trade winds and shifting tropical rainfall eastward.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
So declares the Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome upon rolling out a new dashboard showing that, since June last year, the U.S. has taken equity stakes in 35 companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Head slowly bobbing, Ben declares, “I’m coming with you. We’ll take the subway.”
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In doing so, they declared their bodies sovereign space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Honeywell Aerospace’s board additionally declared a 40-cent dividend, payable on Dec. 4 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 13.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
For a chunk of the public, the art form’s biggest moment recently was when the actor Timothée Chalamet effectively declared it dead at a town hall event.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
As he launched his 700,000 bpd refinery in Kenya worth $16 billion, Dangote declared: "This is Africa coming together to build Africa".
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
When the Serbs refused to meet the Austrian demands, Austria declared war, confident of German support if the war spread.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Elsewhere, the paper reveals the high street giant Poundland is on the "brink of declaring insolvency", even as Healey attempts to help struggling businesses and households, the paper writes.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Trump, however, was not entirely sour on Brazil's leftist president, declaring, "I like Lula, I get along with him very well."
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
The one thing Americans love more than a celebrity feud is taking sides and declaring a victor after each round, even if the opponents don’t realize they’re being pitted against each other.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
In the wake of the outrage, the county walked back its decision, declaring a moratorium on data centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
After declaring his irreversible intention to retire, Washington devoted several paragraphs to the need for national unity.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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