Word.ws English Dictionary

protesting

protesting is the present participle and gerund of protest.

Meaning of protest

Verb

protest (third-person singular simple present protests, present participle protesting, simple past and past participle protested)

  1. (intransitive) To make a strong objection.
    • How dare you, I protest!
  2. (transitive) To affirm (something).
    • I protest my innocence.
  3. To object to.
    • "The gay community would love to point to Patti and say, 'She's one of us'" […] I protest the statement I have mentioned, as well as others like it. Few people I know, gay or straight, identify with the often outrageous thoughts of Patti Smith. Among other things, she's indicated in interviews that...1976 February 14, Joan DeForeest, “Irresponsible Inaccuracies Infuriate”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 33, page 5
  4. (Canada, US, transitive) To publicly demonstrate against.
    • They protested the demolition of the school.
  5. To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; to appeal to.
    • Fiercely [they] opposed / My journey strange, with clamorous uproar / Protesting fate supreme.1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, 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...
  6. (transitive) to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill or note). This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.

See all 11 meanings of protest

Noun

protesting (plural protestings)

  1. Protestation.
    • Yet in the midst of all her pure protestings,
      Her faith, her oaths, her tears and all were jestings.1599, William Shakespeare (attributed), The Passionate Pilgrim, [Poem 7]
    • Are not Vows binding, do we mock the Gods,
      When our Protestings summon ’em to Witness,
      Whether our Words keep measure with our Hearts?1688, William Mountfort, The Injur’d Lovers, London: Samuel Manship, act IV, scene 1, page 42

Forms of protesting

pluralprotestings

Words formed from protesting

Phrases with protesting

Questions about protesting

What does protesting mean?
Protesting means protestation.
What is protesting the present participle and gerund of?
Protesting is the present participle and gerund of protest.
What part of speech is protesting?
Protesting is a noun.
What is the plural of protesting?
The plural of protesting is protestings.

Words near protesting in the dictionary

  1. protestatory
  2. protested
  3. protested too much
  4. protester
  5. protesters
  6. protesting
  7. protesting too much
  8. protestingly
  9. protestings
  10. protestive
  11. protestor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: protesting (page history and authors); protest (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.

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