EXCLAMATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does exclamation mean? 

• EXCLAMATION (noun)
  The noun EXCLAMATION has 3 senses:

1. an abrupt excited utterance

2. a loud complaint or protest or reproach

3. an exclamatory rhetorical device

  Familiarity information: EXCLAMATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXCLAMATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An abrupt excited utterance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

exclaiming; exclamation

Context example:

there was much exclaiming over it

Hypernyms ("exclamation" is a kind of...):

utterance; vocalization (the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "exclamation"):

deuce; devil; dickens (a word used in exclamations of confusion)

ejaculation; interjection (an abrupt emphatic exclamation expressing emotion)

expostulation (an exclamation of protest or remonstrance or reproof)

Derivation:

exclaim (utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A loud complaint or protest or reproach

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("exclamation" is a kind of...):

complaint ((formerly) a loud cry (or repeated cries) of pain or rage or sorrow)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An exclamatory rhetorical device

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ecphonesis; exclamation

Context example:

O tempore! O mores

Hypernyms ("exclamation" is a kind of...):

rhetorical device (a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance))

Derivation:

exclaim (state or announce)

 Context examples 

The first exclamation sounded like a question put to both of us, and the second like a question put to Steerforth only.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

There was a leap, a flash of teeth, a sharp exclamation.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Yet his time came, in the end, in the form of a little weazened man who spat broken English and many strange and uncouth exclamations which Buck could not understand.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

We heard his exclamation of astonishment, and then we went away silently.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The man who followed slipped on a smooth boulder, nearly fell, but recovered himself with a violent effort, at the same time uttering a sharp exclamation of pain.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I looked closely, but was not sure until exclamations broke out on all sides.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A crash, a cry, and a laugh from Laurie, accompanied by the indecorous exclamation, Jupiter Ammon!

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Suddenly an exclamation broke from Lord Roxton.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and peering through the gloom, I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and unkempt, staring out at me.

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

Well, well, said he presently with an exclamation of satisfaction, things are turning a little in our direction at last.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)