commination

[ kom-uh-ney-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: comminationcomminativecomminatory on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a threat of punishment or vengeance.

  2. a denunciation.

  1. (in the Church of England) a penitential office read on Ash Wednesday in which God's anger and judgments are proclaimed against sinners.

Origin of commination

1
1400–50; late Middle English (<Anglo-French ) <Latin comminātiōn- (stem of comminātīo), equivalent to commināt(us), past participle of comminārī to threaten (com-com- + minārī to threaten) + -iōn--ion

Other words from commination

  • com·mi·na·tor, noun
  • com·min·a·to·ry [kuh-min-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, kom-uh-nuh-], /kəˈmɪn əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈkɒm ə nə-/, com·mi·na·tive, adjective

Words Nearby commination

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use commination in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commination

commination

/ (ˌkɒmɪˈneɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of threatening punishment or vengeance

  2. Church of England a recital of prayers, including a list of God's judgments against sinners, in the office for Ash Wednesday

Origin of commination

1
C15: from Latin comminātiō, from comminārī to menace, from com- (intensive) + minārī to threaten

Derived forms of commination

  • comminatory (ˈkɒmɪnətərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

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