clam- [cla-] clamat-, claim-

The action of protesting, speaking up loudly often to articulate anger, surprise, etc.: The vociferous exclamations of the city council members regarding the announcement of higher taxes surprised the finance minister and caused him to retreat from the room.

Descriptive of utterances or expressions of feelings that are outspoken, excited, or very enthusiastic: The more exclamatory remarks of the movie star were highlighted in a newspaper article, much to the delight of her fans.

1. Unable to be reformed or called back to doing the right things: The founder of Boys' Town, USA, believed there was no such thing as an irreclaimable boy.
2. Descriptive of land that is depleted and cannot be brought back to a useful cultivation: The agronomist, or agricultural land development specialist, regretted that the flooded land was irreclaimable and could no longer grow healthy crops.
3. Impossible to be called back or revoked; irrevocable: The crash of the car against the tree caused irreclaimable damage and so it had to be towed away to the junk yard.

To make an inappropriate demand or request for something: The inexperienced lawyer misclaimed an appeal for his client before the judge had issued a final decision; so, the joke in court was that the lawyer had "jumped the gun" in terms of making a legal demand.

1. To make an official announcement by word of mouth in some public place; also, to cause this to be done by officers or agents: The President proclaimed a national day of mourning for the brave soldier who died in an auto accident.
2. To make a public declaration of war against another power; to declare war: The first minister for the country stood on the balcony, proclaiming that a state of peace no longer existed between his country and the nation on the other side of the river.
3. To declare publicly; to make known aloud or openly; to publish: A ritual at the church was to proclaim the upcoming marriage ceremony of couples in the congregation.

After winning every competition in tennis at his university, Clarence was proclaimed "campus athlete of the year".

4. Etymology: from Latin proclamare "to cry or to call out", from pro-, "forth" + clamare, "to cry out".

1. Publicly and officially announced; publicly declared by a special decree or pronouncement: The children were excited about the upcoming proclaimed holiday which was an additional day to celebrate the acquisition of a new athletic field for sports.
2. Of a district or place that is controlled by special legal restrictions: The proclaimed property on the island was governed by an absentee landlord through a hired agent.

Someone who announces or makes something publicly known: The local village held an annual contest to select the town proclaimer for the year, a person who would announce the dates of athletic competitions and other events involving the community.

1. An official public notice: The written proclamation regarding snowplowing was posted at the court house and on various buildings around the town.
2. The public and formal announcement of the accession of a king or ruler: The proclamation of the crowning of the king was preceded by much fanfare by trumpets and drums.
3. The action of denouncing as illegal, a district to be under legal restriction, etc.: The proclamation which was posted at the federal building and post offices identified the bank robbers and advertised a reward for their capture.
4. A formal order issued by a sovereign or other legal authority and made public either by being announced by a herald, or by being posted in public places: During Medieval times, a royal messenger would ride across the countryside, announcing the government's latest proclamations in town squares.

An individual who makes official public announcements: John Smith was appointed to be the proclamator for the local rural courts that dealt with cases involving local citizens.

1. Descriptive of the process of making a public announcement: The proclamatory nature of the notice posted in the government building underscored the importance of the information therein.
2. A reference to the redevelopment of soil so it is good for cultivation: The soil reclamation specialist used several proclamatory minerals and fertilizers to bring the land back to a condition that would be acceptable for cultivation.

1. To get something back which was lost or taken away: Constance was reclaiming the money and jewels from the police which were stolen by the burglar who was caught and arrested.
2. To make land, which was covered by flood waters, fit again for cultivation: An environmental group was helping farmers reclaim acres of fields so they could start growing their crops again.
3. To recover materials for reuse by freeing them from impurities: Plastics, rubber, and some other elements are being reclaimed by rendering them acceptable for the production of usable items again.

Descriptive of materials or personalities, etc. that can be salvaged from a degenerate or unusable condition and made productive again: The social worker thought Hans was the most reclaimable individual he'd worked with and he had great hopes for the young man's productive future.

1. Someone who recovers property or materials: Garrett went to the railroad station as a reclaimer of his suitcase from the luggage office.
2. The act of making something suitable for construction, farming, or living: The Dutch have been successful reclaimers of a significant amount of land from the sea by draining it and enclosing it with sea walls.

Mark and his associates were successful reclaimers who developed a system of converting old car tires, glass, plastics, waste paper, etc. into useful forms which turned refuse dumps into profitable sources of income.

3. Anyone who strives to make people stop living immoral lives and to be honest and to behave according to standards that are just and right: For several decades, Billy Graham was a reclaimer, or evangelist, who preached Christian principles around the world to strongly urge everyone to live moral lives as followers of God.

1. An action of protesting; a protest: The reclamation of the opposition by the crowd to the increased taxes was loud and disturbing.
2. A calling or bringing back from wrong-doing; a reformation: The judge ordered the wayward youth to complete 250 hours of working with homeless people as a form of reclamation for his misbehavior with a woman who was begging for money to buy something to eat.
3. Any reprocessing of unusable objects or waste materials that can be utilized again: Jim works for a local company that recycles various kinds of plastics for reclamation so they can produce new products.

Making wild or overgrown land suitable for farming or other human uses is one kind of reclamation or allowing cultivated or altered land to be returned to nature and returning it to its wild state, is another application of reclamation which has become more popular as many people have a greater appreciation for the importance of wild life.

4. The return of something which was lost or taken away: The priest issued an appeal for the reclamation of the missing religious statues which were apparently taken from the church.

1. A desire, a striving for, or a flair for publicity or getting attention: The politician was using TV as his primary réclame to communicate with voters and to get them to vote for him in the next election.
2. Etymology: from French, "advertising"; from réclamer, "to claim, beg for", from Old French reclamer; from Latin reclamare, "to cry out against". © ALL rights are reserved.

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