Library / English Dictionary

EXCLAIM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy

Example:

'I'm here,' the mother shouted when she saw her child looking lost

Synonyms:

call out; cry; cry out; exclaim; outcry; shout

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "exclaim" is one way to...):

express; give tongue to; utter; verbalise; verbalize (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)

Verb group:

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell (utter a sudden loud cry)

call out (call out loudly, as of names or numbers)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "exclaim"):

gee (give a command to a horse to turn to the right side)

aah; ooh (express admiration and pleasure by uttering 'ooh' or 'aah')

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They exclaim that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

exclaiming; exclamation (an abrupt excited utterance)

exclamatory (sudden and strong)

Sense 2

Meaning:

State or announce

Example:

The King will proclaim an amnesty

Synonyms:

exclaim; proclaim; promulgate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "exclaim" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "exclaim"):

declare (proclaim one's support, sympathy, or opinion for or against)

trumpet (proclaim on, or as if on, a trumpet)

clarion (proclaim on, or as if on, a clarion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

exclamation (an exclamatory rhetorical device)

exclamatory (sudden and strong)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As he pulled and tugged and wrenched, he kept exclaiming with every expulsion of breath, "Beasts!"

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“My dear Holmes,” I exclaimed, “how on earth——”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Emma even jumped with surprize;—and, horror-struck, exclaimed, Jane Fairfax! Good God!

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

“That is also my victim!” he exclaimed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"Good heavens!" she exclaimed, "he is there—he is there—Oh! why does he not look at me? why cannot I speak to him?"

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

“A pretty modest request upon my word,” he indignantly exclaimed as they walked away.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“Courage, child!” they heard the tall man exclaim in strange hybrid French.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“By the powers, Tom Morgan, it's as good for you!” exclaimed the landlord.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Good God, sir,” exclaimed the officer, “is it possible?”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)