acclaim means to shout; to call out. It carries an Arena rating of 1590, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, acclaim ranks #1,011 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,083 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,370 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,851 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
acclaim is pronounced /əˈkleɪm/.
Why “acclaim” is a great word
To praise enthusiastically and publicly. From the Latin acclāmō ("to shout at, applaud"), formed from ad- ("to, at") + clāmō ("to cry out, shout"), first attested in the early 14th century in the sense 'to lay claim to'; the 'applaud' sense attested from the 1630s. Unlike "applaud" (which reduces to the percussive mechanics of hands) or "censure" (which is its sharp, public opposite), "acclaim" is the resonant declaration itself, the vocal or written coronation. It is the roar that lifts a hero from a crowd, the critic’s rapturous headline in newsprint, and the standing ovation that begins with a single voice—praise that knows it is being witnessed, and performs its witnessing in turn.
Etymology
* First attested in the early 14th century. * (to applaud): First attested in the 1630s. * Borrowed from Latin acclāmō (“raise a cry at; applaud”), formed from ad- + clāmō (“cry out, shout”).
verb
- To shout; to call out.
- To express great approval (for).e.g.“a highly-acclaimed novel”
- To salute or praise with great approval; to compliment; to applaud; to welcome enthusiastically.
- To claim.
- To declare by acclamations.
- To elect (a politician, etc.) to an office automatically because no other candidates run; elect by acclamation.
noun
- An acclamation; a shout of applause.
- A claim.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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