denounce di-ˈnau̇n(t)s verb
1. speak out against
2. accuse or condemn openly or formally as disgraceful
3. give away information about somebody
4. announce the termination of, as of treaties
Listen to the pronunciation.
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The word denounce has appeared in 226 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Dec. 14 in “Paintbrush in Hand, a Russian Muralist Wages His Own War” by Valerie Hopkins:
Mr. Ovchinnikov is a rare dissident in Russia, where public criticism of the war can land people in jail or exile. He said his age and his family history offered a modicum of protection, even though he has been fined, questioned by the authorities and pelted with snowballs.
… He also said his own history — he did not meet his father until age 11 because his father had spent 10 years in a gulag, and his grandfather and uncle were killed by the state — drove him to denounce violence and war. Upon his retirement as an engineer in Moscow, he settled in his father’s house in Borovsk. His father had chosen the town because as a former political prisoner, he was forced to live at least 60 miles away from the capital.
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