Etymology Journal ยท I
I declare!
Meaning
- An old-fashioned exclamation of surprise, shock, or emphasis. It acts as a polite way to show strong emotion without using crude language.
Shocked, proper
Used in a sentence
- Well, I declare, I have never seen such a beautiful garden.
- I declare, it is getting hot enough to melt the pavement.
- I declare, you have grown so much since I last saw you!
The backstory
Rooted in the Southern United States, this is a remnant of more formal Victorian-era speech habits. It functions as a mild intensifier for a statement.
Heard in
The South
Vibe check