Meaning & use
commination
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountableformalreligion
A formal warning or threat of punishment, especially one said to come from God.
Grammar: Can be countable (a commination) or uncountable (an act of commination).
Patterns
- a commination against someone
- a commination of judgment
The prophet's commination against the city warned of coming disaster.
In the old service, the priest read a commination listing the sins that bring God's anger.
The king issued a commination, threatening severe punishment for anyone who rebelled.
nouncountablereligionformal
In some Christian churches, a public service or prayer that asks for God's forgiveness and warns sinners of judgment.
Grammar: Usually used with 'the' and often capitalized: the Commination.
Patterns
- the Commination
- a commination service
The Book of Common Prayer includes a commination for Ash Wednesday.
The congregation gathered for the commination, listening to the list of curses for unrepentant sinners.
Word forms
| plural | comminations |
|---|
Common combinations
- a commination against
- The sermon was a commination against greed and dishonesty.
- utter a commination
- The priest uttered a commination, calling the people to repent.
- a day of commination
- In some traditions, Ash Wednesday is observed as a day of commination.
Synonyms and how they differ
- threat
- Much more common and general; use 'threat' in everyday speech, and 'commination' only in formal religious or literary contexts.
- curse
- A curse calls down harm or evil on someone; a commination is more a warning of punishment, often from God.
- denunciation
- Denunciation means publicly accusing or condemning someone; commination focuses on the warning of punishment that follows.
Word family
- comminatory adjective
- Threatening or warning of punishment, as in 'a comminatory letter'.
Commonly confused: commination or combination? commination or contamination?
commination vs combination
Combination means a joining of things; commination means a threat or warning. They sound similar but are unrelated.
commination vs contamination
Contamination means pollution or infection; commination is a formal warning or threat.
Practice
In the old prayer book, the priest read a ______ warning the people of God's judgment.
Choose one answer.
'Commination' fits because it means a formal warning of punishment, especially from God. 'Combination' means a joining, 'contamination' means pollution, and 'commendation' means praise, so none of those fit the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commination”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.