MEANING
1. A prayer consisting of repeated petitions, often with a fixed congregational response.
2. Figuratively, a lengthy, repetitive recital of grievances, troubles, or other items.
Use it for
Repetition in prayer, accumulated grievances, ritualized voices.Make repetition carry communal feeling or exhausting persistence.
Words that belong together
- recite a litany
- litany of complaints
- litany of names
On the page
The congregation answered each petition in the litany.
Her litany of grievances outlasted the meal.
He turned the missing children's names into a private litany.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- litany
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Figuratively a long, repetitive list of complaints or troubles; not merely any list. Plural litanies.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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