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EXCLAMATION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An exclamatory rhetorical device
Example:
O tempore! O mores
Synonyms:
ecphonesis; exclamation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An abrupt excited utterance
Example:
there was much exclaiming over it
Synonyms:
exclaiming; exclamation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
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 3
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)
Context examples:
When he heard the sound of my approach, he ceased to utter exclamations of grief and horror and sprung towards the window.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
As he came out of his room he heard the slosh of water, a sharp exclamation, and a resounding smack as his sister visited her irritation upon one of her numerous progeny.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Holmes gave an exclamation of impatience.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
With a hasty exclamation of Misery, and a sign to her sister not to follow her, she directly got up and hurried out of the room.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Harriet felt this too much to utter more than a few words of eager exclamation.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Anne's shudderings were to herself alone; but the Miss Musgroves could be as open as they were sincere, in their exclamations of pity and horror.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
I had no difficulty in restraining my voice from exclamation, my step from hasty advance.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Not Lydia only, but all were concerned in it; and after the first exclamations of surprise and horror, Mr. Gardiner promised every assistance in his power.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Towards evening, however, the breaking of a test-tube brought his research to a premature ending, and he sprang up from his chair with an exclamation of impatience and a clouded brow.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“How well your brother dances!” was an artless exclamation of Catherine's towards the close of their conversation, which at once surprised and amused her companion.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
