valedictory

American  

[val-i-dik-tuh-ree] / ˌvæl ɪˈdɪk tə ri /

adjective

1. bidding goodbye; saying farewell.

   a valedictory speech.

2. of or relating to an occasion of leave-taking.

   a valedictory ceremony.

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noun

valedictories plural

1. an address or oration delivered at the commencement exercises of a college or school on behalf of the graduating class.

2. any farewell address or oration.

valedictory British  

/ -trɪ, ˌvælɪˈdɪktərɪ /

noun

1. a farewell address or speech

2. a farewell speech delivered at a graduation ceremony, usually by the most outstanding graduate

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• valedictories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of valedictory

1645–55; < Latin valedict ( us ) ( see valediction) + -ory ¹

Explanation

A valedictory is a speech expressing farewell, as at a school graduation. The adjective valedictory relates to saying good-bye, but almost always refers to a speech or address. Many people think of a valedictory address as the graduation speech given by the kid who got the highest grades in school — and often it is — but valedictory words don't have to have anything to do with schools or grades or throwing your cap in the air. They're all about taking one's leave or saying farewell, whether it's the president leaving office or a worker reaching retirement or a friend at a going-away party.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

valedictory valedictories

The length and detail in his valedictory statement suggests this was in the pipeline for a day or two but there's no word on why he has taken this decision.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Conservative lawyers and pundits marked the occasion by publishing laudatory articles that had, to me, a distinctly valedictory feel to them.

From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026

And indeed there was something of a valedictory air to Henley’s comments on Friday about having been on “a hell of a ride” over the last half-century.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2024

Michael Love, who had paroled from Folsom Prison five months earlier, came back to give the valedictory speech.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023

There was shuffling and rustling around me, then Henry Reed was giving his valedictory address, “To Be or Not to Be.”

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

She stood all of 5 feet 4 inches, not counting the white stiletto heels, on the podium in the House television studio Thursday for one of her many valedictories.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 2, 2022

Two thousand years ago man's manner of dying was profoundly changed by the greatest of valedictories: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

From Time Magazine Archive

Heretofore best known for Moonchildren and the screenplay of Hair, both valedictories to the '60s, Weller looks back to his adolescence, a decade earlier, in Spoils of War.

From Time Magazine Archive

After their convention valedictories, the Reagans gave a reception for longtime friends back at their New Orleans hotel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another time you had better keep away with your valedictories till I get my wrapper finished.”

From The Portion of Labor by Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins