clarion

Syllables: clar·i·on/ˈklæɹ.i.ən/UK/ˈklæɹ.ɪ.ən/

clarion noun: a medieval brass instrument chiefly used as a battle signal; related to the trumpet, it had a narrow, straight pipe and a high-pitched, piercing sound.

Noun

clarion (plural clarions)

(historical, poetic) A medieval brass instrument chiefly used as a battle signal; related to the trumpet, it had a narrow, straight pipe and a high-pitched, piercing sound.
- The clarion’s call to action has been heard.
- Then ſtrait commands that at the warlike ſound / Of Trumpets loud and Clarions be upreard / His mighty Standard; […]1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
(broadly, poetic) The sound of a clarion (sense 1), or any sound resembling the loud, high-pitched note of a clarion.
- Others [i.e., other birds] on ground / Walk'd firm; the creſted Cock whoſe clarion ſounds / The ſilent hours, and th' other whoſe gay Traine / Adorns him, colour'd with the Florid hue / Of Rainbows and Starrie Eyes.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- And his this Drum, vvhoſe hoarſe heroic baſe / Drovvns the loud Clarion of the braying Aſs.1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Second”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 26, lines 213–214
(broadly) An organ stop consisting of pipes with reeds giving a high-pitched note like that of a clarion (sense 1).
(broadly) The middle register of the clarinet.
A charge thought to represent a type of wind instrument, a keyboard instrument like a spinet, or perhaps a rest used by a knight to support a lance during jousting.

Synonyms:

clarichord, rest, sufflue

Adjective

clarion (not comparable)

Of a sound, a voice, a message, etc.: brilliantly clear.
- her clarion top notes
- And loud that clarion voice replied / Excelsior!1841 September 28 (date written), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “[Miscellaneous.] Excelsior.”, in Ballads and Other Poems, 2nd edition, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1842, →OCLC, stanza 4...

Verb

clarion (third-person singular simple present clarions, present participle clarioning, simple past and past participle clarioned)

(rare, transitive) To announce or herald (something) using a clarion (noun sense 1).
1. (figuratively, rare, transitive) To announce or herald (something) clearly, especially so as to stir or unite people.
  - His deep voice clarioned the words and he paused, hearing them whisper away into their last faint echoes in the organ loft.1946, Rebecca Rogers, They Ask for Bread, New York, N.Y.: Rockport Press Publishers, →OCLC, page 16
  - He [Martin Luther King Jr.] clarioned a call to action that was heard wherever Afro-Christians could be found (and beyond, if one recalls Pentecostalism).1997, Cedric J[ames] Robinson, “The Search for Higher Ground”, in Black Movements in America (Revolutionary Thought/Radical Movements), New York, N.Y.; London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 144
(also, figuratively, rare, transitive) Of a thing: to cause (a place) to echo with a sound like that of a clarion.
- Sir Knight, thy glory clarioneth the heavens.1833, [Richard Henry Horne], “Of Composers, and Instrumental Performers”, in Exposition of the False Medium and Barriers Excluding Men of Genius from the Public, London: Effingham Wilson, […], →OCLC...
(intransitive, rare) To sound a clarion; also, to make a high-pitched, piercing sound like that of a clarion.
- [T]hou, young-bodied morn, / In-ushered by the puffed winds clarioning, / No bond can bind.1883, [Ronald Roth], “The Judgment of Tithonus”, in Edgar or the New Pygmalion; and The Judgment of Tithonus, Madras, Tamil Nadu: Higginbotham and Co. […], →OCLC, scene ii, page 23
- We dogs are all a-mourning; but thou [a rooster] clappest thy wings and clarionest thy loudest and treadest hen after hen.1885, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, “Tale of the Bull and the Ass. [Night 1.]”, in A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, now Entituled The Book of the...

Proper noun capitalized: Clarion

Clarion

An unincorporated community in Bureau County, Illinois, United States.
A city, the county seat of Wright County, Iowa, United States.
A borough, the county seat of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States.
A ghost town in Sanpete County, Utah, United States.
A river in Pennsylvania, a tributary of the Allegheny River.

clarion meaning in Urdu

clarion in Urdu

کوس, نفیر, نرسنگھا, قرنا

Examples of clarion in a sentence

And like a silver clarion rung / The accents of that unknown tongue, / Excelsior!1841 September 28 (date written), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “[Miscellaneous.] Excelsior.”, in Ballads and Other Poems, 2nd edition...
The cock's ſhrill clarion, or the ecchoing horn, / No more ſhall rouſe them from their lovvly bed.1750 June 12 (date written; published 1751), T[homas] Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley...
[K]indling Nations buckle on their mail, / And Fame, with clarion-blast and wings unfurl'd, / To freedom and revenge awakens an injured World!1811, Walter Scott, The Vision of Don Roderick; a Poem, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for John Ballantyne and Co. […]; London...
O chanticleer, / Your clarion blow; the day is near.1858 October 16, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “[Birds of Passage.] Daybreak.”, in The Courtship of Miles Standish, and Other Poems, Boston...

Synonyms of clarion

Forms of clarion

Noun
plural	clarions
Verb
third-person singular present	clarions
present participle	clarioning
past participle	clarioned
past	clarioned

Origin of clarion

The noun is derived from Middle English clarion, clarioun (“trumpet with a narrow tube and a shrill sound, clarion; clarion player”) [and other forms], from Old French claron, clarïon (“clarion”) [and other forms], from Medieval Latin clāriōn, clario, clārōn (“clarion; trumpet”), from Latin clārus (“audible; clear, distinct, loud; (visually) bright, clear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, summon; to cry”). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.

From Middle English clariounen (“of a horn or trumpet: to blow, sound”), from clarioun (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs). Later uses may also be derived directly from the noun.

Words formed from clarion

clarion call
clarionet
clarionetist
clarionettist
clarioning

Phrases with clarion

Words that rhyme with clarion

Questions about clarion

What does clarion mean?: Clarion means a medieval brass instrument chiefly used as a battle signal; related to the trumpet, it had a narrow, straight pipe and a high-pitched, piercing sound.
What is clarion in Urdu?: Clarion in Urdu is کوس, نفیر, نرسنگھا. See Clarion meaning in Urdu.
How do you use clarion in a sentence?: And like a silver clarion rung / The accents of that unknown tongue, / Excelsior!
What part of speech is clarion?: Clarion can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce clarion?: Clarion is pronounced /ˈklæɹ.ɪ.ən/ (UK).
What is the plural of clarion?: The plural of clarion is clarions.

Words near clarion in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: clarion (page history and authors); Clarion (page history and authors); clarion (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-clarion.ogg.

Cite this entry: “clarion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/clarion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.