blazon

1 of 2

noun

bla·​zon ˈblā-zᵊn 

1

a

: armorial bearings : coat of arms

b

: the proper description or representation of heraldic or armorial bearings

2

: ostentatious display

blazon

2 of 2

verb

blazoned; blazoning

ˈblāz-niŋ,

ˈblā-zᵊn-iŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to publish widely : proclaim

2

a

: to describe (heraldic or armorial bearings) in technical terms

b

: to represent (armorial bearings) in drawing or engraving

3

a

: display

b

: deck, adorn

the town was blazoned with flags

blazoner

ˈblāz-nər

ˈblā-zᵊn-ər 

noun

blazoning noun

Synonyms

Verb

• advertise
• announce
• annunciate
• blare
• blaze
• broadcast
• declare
• enunciate
• flash
• give out
• herald
• placard
• post
• proclaim
• promulgate
• publicize
• publish
• release
• sound
• trumpet

Examples of blazon in a Sentence

Verb

their very public canoodling has pretty much blazoned the fact that they are having an affair

the city's waterfront has been blazoned with banners celebrating the festival of tall ships

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Fall Guy blazons the insipid content that the movie industry never tires of selling us. —Armond White, National Review, 3 May 2024

The new design hews to the existing skyline but pulls away from the street, ceding primacy to the original and treating the bell tower as its prominent blazon. —Curbed, 18 July 2022

The Android-only app with the blazon of the French republic will be the only way for residents to create a legal digital ID and facial recognition will be its sole enabler. —BostonGlobe.com, 7 Oct. 2019

Verb

Where once the necktie blazoned out a specific identity from the general background of tailored gray, now everything counts. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 July 2024

Instead, the 1928 Banana Massacre that blazoned headlines in its day became buried in history, kept alive by a few Colombian journalists who wrote accounts of it, as well as stories passed down locally generation to generation. —Jack Werner / Made By History, TIME, 18 June 2024

Before booking tours and excursions, some reef advocates recommend seeking out businesses blazoned with EarthCheck or EcoTourism Australia certifications, which identifies outfitters and accommodations that have made efforts toward sustainability. —Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023

There were lines at The Washington Post’s downtown office Thursday as fans sought to buy a copy of the day’s paper celebrating the win and a 12-page commemorative edition with a single-word headline blazoned across the top of the front page: CHAMPS! —Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2019

There were Disney characters blazoned on the curtains, the soap, the armoire. —James Marcus, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2019

The far-right white nationalist Identitarian movement’s symbol, blazoned in gold against a black background, is the circle of an aspis, the round shield that was a Spartan warrior’s principal piece of equipment. —Myke Cole, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2019

The packaging—blazoned in #millennialpink with a fashion illo of lashes or lips—admittedly speaks to a slightly younger demo (as do the $10.50 glitter pots). —Lindsay Schallon, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2017

Already in 1492, when Christopher Columbus embarked for the Indies, the German mariner and cosmographer Georg Martin Behaim had blazoned an animal that might be a polar bear near the North Pole of his 1492 Erdapfel (Earth Apple) globe. —Michael Engelhard, Smithsonian, 31 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English blason, from Anglo-French

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blazon

• brazen
• hazan
• zazen
• malmaison