# declaration

Pronunciation: say "dek-luh-RAY-shuhn" US/UK /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, AUS /ˌdek.ləˈɹæɪ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. A formal or emphatic statement that asserts something clearly and decisively, made by speech or in writing.
   - Simple: A clear, strong statement that you make openly so everyone knows what you mean.
   - _The committee issued a formal declaration condemning the new policy._
   - _His sudden declaration that he was resigning shocked the whole office._
2. The act or process of formally making something known or asserting it.
   - Simple: The act of making something known in an official or public way.
   - _The official declaration of bankruptcy followed months of financial trouble._
   - _The declaration of a state of emergency allowed the governor to deploy extra resources._
3. An official list of items submitted for a legal purpose, such as goods presented at customs.
   - Simple: An official list of things, often used for taxes or border checks.
   - _He signed the customs declaration listing the electronics he was bringing into the country._
   - _Travelers must complete a declaration for any goods over the duty-free limit._
4. A statement that establishes the existence of an object such as a variable or function, without necessarily defining its contents.
   - Simple: A short piece of code that tells a program a name, such as a variable, exists.
   - _A forward declaration lets the compiler know the function exists before its body appears._
   - _Each declaration introduces a new variable into the current scope._
5. In common law, the formal document that sets out a plaintiff's cause of action and informs the defendant of the grounds for the lawsuit.
   - Simple: In law, an official paper that explains why someone is taking another person to court.
   - _The plaintiff's declaration laid out each fact supporting the claim for damages._
   - _Counsel reviewed the declaration carefully before responding to the lawsuit._
6. In cricket, the act by which a batting captain chooses to end the team's innings before all the batsmen are out.
   - Simple: In cricket, when the captain of the batting team chooses to end the team's innings early.
   - _England's declaration came just before lunch, setting a target of 350 runs._
   - _A bold declaration gave the bowlers enough time to take all ten wickets._

## Noun

7. An open, formal statement of one's romantic love for another person. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An open statement telling someone that you love them.
   - _His declaration of love came in a long letter she kept for years._
   - _She had waited all season for his declaration._

## Origin

This word passed into Middle English from Old French "declaration" (modern French "déclaration"), which came from Latin "dēclārātiōnem," the accusative form of "dēclārātiō."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/declaration (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).