Commination

//ˌkɒmɪˈneɪʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A formal denunciation; especially one threatening divine punishment.

    "ROMEO Good gentle youth, tempt not a desp’rate man. / ... I beseech thee, youth, / Put not another sin upon my head / By urging me to fury... / PARIS I do defy thy commination / And apprehend thee for a felon here."

  2. 2
    a threat of divine punishment or vengeance wordnet
  3. 3
    prayers proclaiming God's anger against sinners; read in the Church of England on Ash Wednesday wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
anathemabanblasphemycataplexiscursedamnation

Example

More examples

"ROMEO Good gentle youth, tempt not a desp’rate man. / ... I beseech thee, youth, / Put not another sin upon my head / By urging me to fury... / PARIS I do defy thy commination / And apprehend thee for a felon here."

Etymology

From Latin comminātiō, from comminor (“to threaten”).

Related phrases

ash wednesday

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.