Literary notes about Denounce (AI summary)
In literature, “denounce” is frequently deployed as a forceful term to cast moral, social, or political judgments. It exemplifies the act of publicly exposing wrongdoing or hypocrisy, as in a spiritual context where one is urged to condemn personal sins and faults [1], or in a narrative setting where an individual faces fear and hesitation about accusing another [2]. The word often carries an emotional weight, used to accentuate stern rebukes against idolatry or political betrayal [3] and even as a tool of self-defensive rhetoric in moments of crisis [4]. This versatile usage enriches texts by highlighting internal conflicts, societal critiques, and the dramatic cadence of accusation and defiance.
- Fear, denounce, flee nothing so much as thine own faults and sins, which ought to be more displeasing to thee than any loss whatsoever of goods.
— from The Imitation of Christ by à Kempis Thomas - The girl was scared, and begged them not to denounce her, and said it was only fleas; but of course it would not do to let the matter rest there.
— from The Mysterious Stranger, and Other Stories by Mark Twain - After Jeroboam (1 Kings xiii.) had built altars to the Elohim, under form of Calves, a prophet came out of Judah to denounce the idolatry.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway - At last, almost fiercely, he uttered, "Who dares denounce my son?"
— from Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 1 by John Wilson
