declare

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb declare differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of declare are announce, proclaim, and promulgate. While all these words mean "to make known publicly," declare implies explicitness and usually formality in making known.

the referee declared the contest a draw

Where would announce be a reasonable alternative to declare?

The meanings of announce and declare largely overlap; however, announce implies the declaration of something for the first time.

announced their engagement at a party

When might proclaim be a better fit than declare?

While the synonyms proclaim and declare are close in meaning, proclaim implies declaring clearly, forcefully, and authoritatively.

the president proclaimed a national day of mourning

In what contexts can promulgate take the place of declare?

The words promulgate and declare can be used in similar contexts, but promulgate implies the proclaiming of a dogma, doctrine, or law.

promulgated an edict of religious toleration

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of declare The vehicle eventually leaves the area after the Worcester Police Department arrived and declared an unlawful assembly, threatening arrest. Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2025 Experts declare what was once a clear path is now a moving target, demanding constant reinvention. Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025 Instead, last July, Maduro declared victory in an election that is widely understood to be corrupt. Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 10 May 2025 Trump declared members of crime gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport them more swiftly. Zac Anderson, USA Today, 1 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for declare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for declare
Verb
  • Crypto deals raise questions However, Netanyahu said Israel had agreed only to allow safe passage for Alexander, and its forces would continue recently announced preparations to step up operations there.
    James Mackenzie, USA Today, 13 May 2025
  • Those first appearances will be in early 2023; at this writing, router maker TP-Link had just announced a slate of pricey Archer router and Deco mesh Wi-Fi 7 gear to debut in Q1.
    Iyaz Akhtar, PC Magazine, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • While working on the film, Lively insisted on rewriting the infamous rooftop scene.
    Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2025
  • Some Justices insist on total secrecy from their clerks, including about even the fact of their having worked on particular cases.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • In response, two of Trump's senior officials made statements asserting that the message was a threat toward the president.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 16 May 2025
  • Inspired by classic boom-bap production, lyrically, the track sees Young assert her agency in the bedroom with a new flame.
    Sophie Williams, Billboard, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • The list also reveals the male and female names that are the most popular: Olivia and Emma ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for girls, and Liam and Noah ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for boys.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 13 May 2025
  • Even beyond the legal angle, this chaotic tariff regime reveals something more troubling: a total absence of strategic thinking.
    Aron Solomon, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
Verb
  • Notably, an anonymous poll of his NBA peers by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic proclaimed the 6-foot-5 Iowa State product to be the league's most overrated player.
    Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
  • Additionally, all 2025 mayoral candidates, former police commissioners, district attorneys, and public officials must proclaim that NYC should not obey the egregious orders.
    Arnold Kriss, New York Daily News, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • But McLaughlin claimed that a Dallas Police detective inadvertently attached the wrong photo to the entry.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • Some of them have already been effectively dismantled by DOGE, like the U.S. Institute of Peace, the site of a dramatic daylong standoff between USIP staffers and representatives of the cost-cutting initiative claiming to be new leadership.
    Stephen Fowler, NPR, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • But while markets have grown more volatile in response to Mr. Trump’s whipsawing approach to trade, Mr. Buffett professed little worry about the effects of that volatility on Berkshire.
    Michael J. de la Merced, New York Times, 3 May 2025
  • From the time of its populist founding, the Christian Church professed profound optimism about life, both earthly and eternal.
    Richard D. Mahoney, JSTOR Daily, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In early April, the U.S. State Department revoked the band members’ visas for allegedly displaying a visual of a cartel kingpin during a recent show.
    Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025
  • Geomagnetic storm conditions last recorded two decades ago impacted Earth in May 2024, an event that pulled the northern lights to northern Florida and Texas, with another similar northern lights display in October.
    Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Declare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/declare. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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