clarion call

noun

: a strong request for something to happen
—usually singular
He used his speech to sound a clarion call for affordable health care.
the leader's clarion call to action

Examples of clarion call in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The health consequences are deeply troubling and should be a clarion call to all of us that change is needed. — Jean Case, Time, 14 May 2026 Or is this a clarion call for the SEC blue bloods to get back to the business of dominance. — Seth Emerson, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2026 This would seem to be a clarion call for the president of the United States, and a populist one at that. — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026 Her TikTok videos acted like a clarion call, bringing them all together. — Rich Schapiro, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for clarion call

Rhymes for clarion call

See All Rhymes for clarion call

Browse Nearby Words

clarion
clarion call
clarity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clarion call.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clarion%20call. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All