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View synonyms for litany

litany

[ lit-n-ee ]

noun

, plural lit·a·nies.
  1. a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.
  2. the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer.
  3. a recitation or recital that resembles a litany.
  4. a prolonged or tedious account:

    We heard the whole litany of their complaints.

    Synonyms: enumeration, catalog, list



litany

/ ˈlɪtənɪ /

noun

  1. Christianity
    1. a form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations, each followed by an unvarying response
    2. the Litany the general supplication in this form included in the Book of Common Prayer
  2. any long or tedious speech or recital


litany

  1. In many religions, a ritual repetition of prayers. Usually a clergyman or singer chants a prayer, and the congregation makes a response, such as “Lord, have mercy.”


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Word History and Origins

Origin of litany1

before 900; < Late Latin litanīa < Late Greek litaneía litany, Greek: an entreating, equivalent to litan- (stem of litaínein, variant of litaneúein to pray) + -eia -y 3; replacing Middle English letanie, Old English letanīa < Medieval Latin, Late Latin, as above

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Word History and Origins

Origin of litany1

C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin litanīa from Late Greek litaneia prayer, ultimately from Greek litē entreaty

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Example Sentences

The audit from the safety commission, an independent agency Congress created two years ago to oversee Metrorail safety after a litany of problems, had wide-ranging effects.

Between the Q4 rush, the abbreviated weeks due to bank holidays, and having to juggle a litany of “real world” holiday prep, the holidays for people like you and me often leave us feeling like we have more work than there are hours in the day.

I put it through a litany of tests on resource-hungry apps with advanced graphics and lots of on-screen action, and it didn’t flinch.

“Our strength is in solidarity,” they say in the video, which also has English subtitles, and which features a litany of tech industry workers, many of whom say that state harassment could lead to the destruction of the tech industry in Belarus.

The Sydney-based outfit started in 1975 and quickly accrued a litany of world firsts—first commercial cycling trips in China, first commercial descent of Tasmania’s Franklin River, first group treks in Mongolia.

But does anyone think this litany of tasks is an appropriate use of physician time?

There has since been a shocking litany of thousands of cases of physical and sexual abuse of children.

Well, despite the litany of issues at hand, this is an absolute win-win for Jackson.

At which point you might recite the now-standard litany of “dark” Disney secrets.

Fink ran through a litany of concerns: China, Japan, “the nonsense in Washington,” the Federal Reserve.

If you can stand a few hours of talk from an old smacksman you may hear a sombre litany of horror.

The invocation, "Queen conceived without the stain of original sin," was added to the Litany of Loreto.

"Happen he gi' him both, and throwed in th' Litany," shouted another.

And she whispered back: "They will pray for those that travel by water in the Litany."

He then repeated a portion of the Litany of the Episcopal church, with apparent fervor.

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