Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense denounces, present participle denouncing, past tense, past participle denounced
1. verb
If you denounce a person or an action, you criticize them severely and publicly because you feel strongly that they are wrong or evil.
The letter called for civil rights, but did not openly denounce the regime. [VERB noun]
German leaders denounced the attacks and pleaded for tolerance. [VERB noun]
Some 25,000 demonstrators denounced him as a traitor. [VERB noun + as]
2. verb
If you denounce someone who has broken a rule or law, you report them to the authorities.
...informers who might denounce you at any moment. [VERB noun]
[Also VERB noun + to]
Synonyms: report, expose, betray, accuse More Synonyms of denounce
More Synonyms of denounce
denounce in British English
(dɪˈnaʊns)
verb(transitive)
1.
to deplore or condemn openly or vehemently
2.
to give information against; accuse
3.
to announce formally the termination of (a treaty, etc)
4. obsolete
a.
to announce (something evil)
b.
to portend
Derived forms
denouncement (deˈnouncement)
noun
denouncer (deˈnouncer)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French denoncier to proclaim, from Latin dēnuntiāre to make an official proclamation, threaten, from de- + nuntiāre to announce
denounce in American English
(diˈnaʊns; dɪˈnaʊns)
verb transitiveWord forms: deˈnounced or deˈnouncing
1.
to accuse publicly; inform against
to denounce an accomplice in crime
2.
to condemn strongly as evil
3.
to give formal notice of the ending of (a treaty, armistice, etc.)
4. Obsolete
to announce, esp. in a menacing way
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈcritiˌcize
Derived forms
denouncement (deˈnouncement)
noun
denouncer (deˈnouncer)
noun
Word origin
ME denouncen < OFr denoncier < L denuntiare: see denunciation
Examples of 'denounce' in a sentence
denounce
Human Rights Watch has denounced his regime as one of the most repressive in the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Others bear handwritten slogans that echo the public chants denouncing the regime.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Night after night they write postcards denouncing the evil regime and its lies.
The Sun (2010)
His manner changed so drastically towards her that she feared he was about to publicly denounce her.
Thomas Blaikie Blaikie's Guide to Modern Manners (2005)
Forty businesses in the area also signed a letter denouncing the proposed opening.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Gossip is nearly always publicly denounced, but frequently socially valued.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He will not denounce the company publicly, but is hoping for other shareholders to rally to his cause.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The regime denounced the Western media.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Although the latter was to survive less than a fortnight (he publicly denounced government nuclear defence policy) some reforms were quickly forthcoming.
Wright, Vincent The Government and Politics of France (1989)
In other languages
denounce
British English: denounce VERB
If you denounce a person or an action, you criticize them severely and publicly because you feel strongly that they are wrong or evil.
The letter called for civil rights, but did not openly denounce the regime.
American English: denounce
Brazilian Portuguese: denunciar
Chinese: 谴责
European Spanish: denunciar
French: dénoncer
German: anprangern
Italian: denunciare
Japanese: 糾弾する
Korean: 공개적으로 비난하다
European Portuguese: denunciar
Latin American Spanish: denunciar
Chinese translation of 'denounce'
denounce
(dɪˈnauns)
vt
[person, action]谴(譴)责(責) (qiǎnzé)
to denounce sb as a traitor/impostor痛斥某人是叛徒/骗(騙)子 (tòngchì mǒurén shì pàntú/piànzi)
1 (verb)
Definition
to condemn openly or vehemently
The leaders took the opportunity to denounce the attacks.
Synonyms
condemn
Political leaders united yesterday to condemn the latest wave of violence.
attack
He publicly attacked the people who've been calling for a secret ballot.
censure
I would not presume to censure him for his views.
decry
He is impatient with those who decry the scheme.
castigate
She castigated him for having no intellectual interests.
revile
damn
You can't damn him for his beliefs.
vilify
He was vilified and forced into exile.
proscribe
Slang is reviled and proscribed by pedants and purists.
stigmatize
They are often stigmatized by the rest of society as lazy and dirty.
impugn
excoriate
declaim against
2 (verb)
Definition
to give information against
Informers might at any moment denounce them to the authorities.
Synonyms
report
A witness reported him to the police.
expose
After the scandal was exposed, he moved abroad.
betray
accuse
He accused me of being lazy.
implicate
inform on
inculpate
arraign
He was arraigned for criminally abetting a traitor.
point a or the finger at
denunciate
dob in (Australian, slang)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of accuse
He accused me of being lazy.
Synonyms
point a or the finger at,
allege,
blame for,
denounce,
attribute to,
hold responsible for,
impute blame to
in the sense of arraign
Definition
to accuse
He was arraigned for criminally abetting a traitor.
Synonyms
accuse,
charge,
prosecute,
denounce,
indict,
impeach,
incriminate,
call to account,
take to task
in the sense of attack
Definition
to criticize vehemently
He publicly attacked the people who've been calling for a secret ballot.