Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make known formally or officially; proclaim: synonym: announce.
  • intransitive verb To state emphatically or authoritatively; affirm.
  • intransitive verb To reveal or make manifest; show.
  • intransitive verb To make a full statement of (dutiable goods, for example).
  • intransitive verb Games To designate (a trump suit or no-trump) with the final bid of a hand in bridge.
  • intransitive verb To make a declaration.
  • intransitive verb To announce one's intention to run for public office.
  • intransitive verb To proclaim one's support, opposition, choice, or opinion.
  • idiom (declare war) To state formally the intention to carry on armed hostilities against.
  • idiom (declare war) To state one's intent to suppress or eradicate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In bridge, to make or name the trump suit, or to announce the intention to play without a trump.
  • To make clear; clear up; free from obscurity; make plain.
  • To make known by words; assert explicitly; manifest or communicate plainly in any way; publish; proclaim; tell.
  • To proclaim; announce.
  • To assert; affirm: as, he declares the story to be false.
  • In law, to solemnly assert a fact before witnesses: as, he declared a paper signed by him to be his last will and testament.
  • To make a full statement of, as of goods on which duty is to be paid at the custom-house.
  • To make known one's thoughts or opinions; proclaim or avow some opinion, purpose, or resolution in favor or in opposition; make known explicitly some determination; make a declaration; come out: with for or against: as, the prince declared for the allies; victory had not declared for either party; the allied powers declared against France.
  • Specifically To express a formal decision; make a decision known by official proclamation or notice.
  • In law, to make a declaration or complaint; set forth formally in pleading the cause for relief against the defendant: as, the plaintiff declared on a promissory note.
  • In the game of bezique, to lay on the table, face up, any counting-cards or combinations of cards; show cards for the purpose of scoring.
  • To decide against continuing a habit or practice; break away from a custom: as, to declare off from smoking.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To make a declaration, or an open and explicit avowal; to proclaim one's self; -- often with for or against.
  • intransitive verb (Law) To state the plaintiff's cause of action at law in a legal form.
  • transitive verb obsolete To make clear; to free from obscurity.
  • transitive verb To make known by language; to communicate or manifest explicitly and plainly in any way; to exhibit; to publish; to proclaim; to announce.
  • transitive verb To make declaration of; to assert; to affirm; to set forth; to avow.
  • transitive verb (Com.) To make full statement of, as goods, etc., for the purpose of paying taxes, duties, etc.
  • transitive verb to recede from an agreement, undertaking, contract, etc.; to renounce.
  • transitive verb to avow one's opinion; to show openly what one thinks, or which side he espouses.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete, transitive To make clear, explain, interpret.
  • verb intransitive To make a declaration.
  • verb transitive To announce one’s support, choice, opinion, etc.
  • verb intransitive, cricket For the captain of the batting side to announce the innings complete even though all batsmen have not been dismissed.
  • verb transitive To announce something formally or officially.
  • verb transitive To affirm or state something emphatically.
  • verb transitive To inform government customs or taxation officials of goods one is importing or of income, expenses, or other circumstances affecting one's taxes.
  • verb transitive To make outstanding debts, e.g. taxes, payable.
  • verb transitive, computing To explicitly include (a variable) as part of a list of variables, often providing some information about the data it is expected to contain.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb state emphatically and authoritatively
  • verb designate (a trump suit or no-trump) with the final bid of a hand
  • verb announce publicly or officially
  • verb authorize payments of
  • verb declare to be
  • verb state firmly
  • verb make a declaration (of dutiable goods) to a customs official
  • verb proclaim one's support, sympathy, or opinion for or against

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English declaren, from Old French declarer, from Latin dēclārāre : dē-, intensive pref.; see de– + clārāre, to make clear (from clārus, clear; see kelə- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French déclarer, from Latin dēclārāre ("to make clear"), from de- + clārus ("clear").

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Examples

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  • Cricket jargon - a team declares when they voluntarily end an innings. Such an act is a declaration. Usually a declaration is made because a team considers it has an adequate lead in runs and wishes to save time in the game. Sometimes declarations are made to throw open a game that would otherwise be heading for a draw.

    November 30, 2007

  • Nigerian English - 1. Pay for a round of drinks. 2. Buy a new item.

    September 17, 2008