| absolution |
in Christian theology, a declaration of forgiveness of one's sins by a priest after confession and penance. [1/3 definitions] |
| abstention |
in parliamentary procedure, a declaration that one intends not to vote on a motion. [1/2 definitions] |
| assertion |
a declaration or statement, often without support or proof. [1/2 definitions] |
| avowal |
an open declaration, acknowledgment, or admission. |
| beatification |
in the Roman Catholic Church, the process of determining whether a deceased person should be declared to be in heaven and therefore deserving of special honor, or the final decision and declaration that this is so. [1/2 definitions] |
| Continental Congress |
the revolutionary assembly, made up of landed representatives of the American colonies, that met between 1774 and 1789 to work out a plan of government and adopted both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. |
| declarative |
making a statement, assertion, or declaration. |
| declare |
to make a declaration. [1/7 definitions] |
| declared war |
an armed conflict that is precipitated by a formal declaration of war. |
| dictum |
a formal or official pronouncement or declaration. [1/3 definitions] |
| dissent |
disagreement, objection, or protest, or a spoken or written declaration thereof. [1/3 definitions] |
| dividend |
a pro rata share of proceeds paid to creditors after a declaration of bankruptcy. [1/4 definitions] |
| Emancipation Proclamation |
the declaration first introduced in 1862 by President Lincoln that freed all the slaves from Confederate states that were not yet under Union control during the United States Civil War. |
| exclamation mark |
a punctuation mark (!) used after a word or words that express surprise or command, make an emphatic declaration, or the like; exclamation point. |
| implied |
involved or suggested by implication rather than declaration; tacit; implicit. |
| inalienable rights |
fundamental rights that cannot be removed, surrendered, or transferred to another person. The Declaration of Independence identifies "life, liberty, and the pursuit of independence" as inalienable rights. |
| Independence Day |
a U.S. national holiday celebrated on July 4 in commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from England in 1776; Fourth of July. |
| John Adams |
the second President of the United States (1797-1801), who had been a strong advocate of American independence from Great Britain as well as one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. President Adams was also the first U.S. Vice President under his predecessor George Washington (b.1735--d.1826). |
| nolle prosequi |
in law, a formal declaration by a prosecutor in a criminal case or a plaintiff in a civil one that one or more charges or defendants will be dropped from a suit. |
| Philadelphia |
a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, the largest city in the state and one of the most populous in the U.S., important as a government center during the Revolutionary War and home to Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and The U.S. Constitution were signed. |
| predicate |
to make a declaration or statement. [1/7 definitions] |