Definitions

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

  • intransitive verb To express a strong objection to (something).
  • intransitive verb To participate in a public demonstration in opposition to (something): synonym: object.
  • intransitive verb To promise or affirm earnestly, as after being doubted.
  • intransitive verb Law To declare an objection and reservation of rights of (a claim being made) while taking an action that would otherwise imply consent or agreement.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To proclaim or make known.
  • intransitive verb To express a strong objection.
  • intransitive verb To participate in a public demonstration in opposition to something.
  • intransitive verb To make an earnest avowal or affirmation.
  • noun A formal declaration of disapproval or objection issued by a concerned person, group, or organization.
  • noun A public demonstration or organized effort to show disapproval about something, especially a governmental policy or practice.
  • noun Law A declaration of objection and reservation of rights, made when action would otherwise imply consent or agreement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of protesting, or that which is protested; an affirmation; asseveration; protestation: now restricted for the most part to a solemn or formal declaration against some act or course of action, by which a person declares (and sometimes has his declaration recorded) that he refuses, or only conditionally yields, his consent to some act to which he might otherwise be assumed to have yielded an unconditional assent: as, to submit under protest; a protest against the action of a committee.
  • noun In law: In a popular sense, all the steps taken to fix the liability of a drawer or indorser of commercial paper when the paper is dishonored.
  • noun Technically, the solemn declaration on the part of the holder of a bill or note against any loss to be sustained by him by reason of the non-acceptanceor non-payment, as the case may be, of the bill or note in question, and the calling of a notary to witness that due steps have been taken to prevent such loss.
  • noun The document authenticating this act.
  • noun A written declaration, usually by the master of a ship, attested by a justice of the peace or a consul, stating the circumstances under which any injury has happened to the ship or cargo, or other circumstances calculated to affect the liability of the owners, officers, crew, etc.
  • noun that the authority of the Bible is supreme, and above that of councils and bishops; and
  • noun that the Bible is not to be interpreted according to tradition, but is to be interpreted by means of itself.
  • To make a solemn declaration or affirmation of; bear witness or testimony to; assert; asseverate; declare: as, to protest one's innocence.
  • To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; appeal to.
  • To declare publicly; publish; make known.
  • To promise solemnly; vow.
  • To declare formally to be insufficiently provided for by deposit or payment: said of a note or bill of exchange, and also, figuratively, of personal credit, statements, etc. See protest, n., 3.
  • Synonyms Protest differs from the words compared under assert (aver, asseverate, etc.) in being more solemn and earnest, and in implying more of previous contradiction or expectation of contradiction (see the quotations above); like them, it is used to make the statement seem certainly true.
  • To bear testimony; affirm with solemnity; make a solemn declaration of a fact or an opinion; asseverate.
  • To make a solemn or formal declaration (often in writing) in condemnation of an act or measure proposed or accomplished: often with against.

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

  • transitive verb To make a solemn declaration or affirmation of; to proclaim; to display.
  • transitive verb To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; to appeal to.
  • transitive verb (Law) to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by the nonacceptance or the nonpayment of the bill or note, as the case may be. This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.
  • noun A solemn declaration of opinion, commonly a formal objection against some act; especially, a formal and solemn declaration, in writing, of dissent from the proceedings of a legislative body.
  • noun A solemn declaration in writing, in due form, made by a notary public, usually under his notarial seal, on behalf of the holder of a bill or note, protesting against all parties liable for any loss or damage by the nonacceptance or nonpayment of the bill, or by the nonpayment of the note, as the case may be.
  • noun A declaration made by the master of a vessel before a notary, consul, or other authorized officer, upon his arrival in port after a disaster, stating the particulars of it, and showing that any damage or loss sustained was not owing to the fault of the vessel, her officers or crew, but to the perils of the sea, etc., ads the case may be, and protesting against them.
  • noun A declaration made by a party, before or while paying a tax, duty, or the like, demanded of him, which he deems illegal, denying the justice of the demand, and asserting his rights and claims, in order to show that the payment was not voluntary.
  • intransitive verb To affirm in a public or formal manner; to bear witness; to declare solemnly; to avow.
  • intransitive verb To make a solemn declaration (often a written one) expressive of opposition; -- with against.

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

  • verb intransitive To make a strong objection.
  • verb transitive To affirm (something).
  • verb transitive To object to.
  • noun A formal objection, especially one by a group.
  • noun A collective gesture of disapproval: a demonstration.

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

  • noun a formal and solemn declaration of objection
  • noun the act of protesting; a public (often organized) manifestation of dissent
  • verb utter words of protest
  • noun the act of making a strong public expression of disagreement and disapproval
  • verb express opposition through action or words
  • verb affirm or avow formally or solemnly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī : prō-, forth; see pro– + testārī, to testify (from testis, witness; see trei- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, present active infinitive of prōtestor, from prō + testor, from testis ("witness").

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  • pRotEST

    April 26, 2008