Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An abrupt, forceful utterance.
  • noun An outcry, as of protest.
  • noun Grammar An interjection.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of exclaiming; an ejaculatory expression of surprise, admiration, pain, anger, dissent, or the like; an emphatic or clamorous outcry.
  • noun That which is uttered with emphasis or passion; a vehement speech or saying.
  • noun The mark or sign in writing and printing (!) by which emphatic utterance or interjectional force is indicated: usually called exclamation mark or -point, and formerly note of admiration. See ecphoneme.
  • noun In grammar, a word expressing outcry; an interjection; a word expressing some passion, as wonder, fear, or grief.
  • noun In rhet, same as ecphonesis, 1.
  • noun In the Gr. Ch., same as ecphonesis, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A loud calling or crying out; outcry; loud or emphatic utterance; vehement vociferation; clamor; that which is cried out, as an expression of feeling; sudden expression of sound or words indicative of emotion, as in surprise, pain, grief, joy, anger, etc.
  • noun (Rhet.) A word expressing outcry; an interjection; a word expressing passion, as wonder, fear, or grief.
  • noun (Print.) A mark or sign by which outcry or emphatic utterance is marked; thus [!]; -- called also exclamation point.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A loud calling or crying out; outcry; loud or emphatic utterance; vehement vociferation; clamor; that which is cried out, as an expression of feeling; sudden expression of sound or words indicative of emotion, as in surprise, pain, grief, joy, anger, etc.
  • noun A word expressing outcry; an interjection; a word expressing passion, as wonder, fear, or grief.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an abrupt excited utterance
  • noun a loud complaint or protest or reproach
  • noun an exclamatory rhetorical device

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The prompted exclamation is always, at heart, "This could not happen!"

    On the Sublime Hal Duncan 2010

  • The prompted exclamation is always, at heart, "This could not happen!"

    Archive 2010-03-01 Hal Duncan 2010

  • ‘I scribble, underline, note, add, cross out, put in exclamation marks, turn down corners – even sometimes jot down phone numbers and PINs and reminders to buy cat food.’

    Commiserations and a Meme « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • An exclamation from the blacks for'ard sent both men glancing seaward.

    A SON OF THE SUN 2010

  • As an interjection, “a word or phrase used in exclamation,” the function of “hooray” even has a sense excitement.

    blog – syllable studio 2009

  • He leapt into the air and pumped the right hand that held his stick in exclamation as a sellout crowd once again roared ` ` Mart-tee, Mart-tee. ''

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • What exclamation is derived from a Greek word meaning "I have found it", which was supposedly shouted by Archimedes when he discovered that a body displaces its own volume when immersed in water?

    The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference 2008

  • Although she may write in exclamation points — the recent press release had three — Ms. Pappas does not speak in them.

    NYTimes finds a pretty & fun feminist! 2008

  • Accompanied by a simultaneous fourfold exclamation from the other vampire hunters of the closural "Amen"

    Phonemanography: Romantic to Victorian 2008

  • Although she may write in exclamation points — the recent press release had three — Ms. Pappas does not speak in them.

    Archive 2008-02-01 2008

Comments

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  • Don't overuse exclamation marks!!

    January 25, 2007

  • GOODNESS ME!!!

    October 6, 2007