exclamation

/ˈɛkskləˌmeɪʃən/

/ɛkskləˈmeɪʃən/

Other forms: exclamations

If you need a word to call other "words" like "Yay!" or "Rats!", then exclamation is your word. An exclamation is usually followed by an exclamation point. Go Figure.

The shocked cry you made when your friends jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" at your birthday party? You could call both your yelp and their "Surprise!" exclamations. The Latin word exclamare, or "cry out loud," is at the root of the noun exclamation. An exclamation doesn't need to be a literal "cry," though — it can be a surprised "Wow!" or an angry "No!" Anything you say with abrupt excitement, pain, fear, or anger is an exclamation.

Definitions of exclamation

1. noun

   an abrupt excited utterance
   “she gave an exclamation of delight”

   synonyms: exclaiming

   types:

   deuce, devil, dickens

   a word used in exclamations of confusion

   interjection

   an abrupt emphatic exclamation expressing emotion

   expostulation

   an exclamation of protest, opposition, or criticism

   type of:

   utterance, vocalization

   the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
2. noun

   an exclamatory rhetorical device
   synonyms: ecphonesis

   type of:

   rhetorical device

   a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
3. noun

   a loud complaint or protest or reproach
   type of:

   complaint

   (formerly) a loud cry (or repeated cries) of pain or rage or sorrow