divine
/di'vain/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Relating to or coming from a god or deity: Describes something that is connected to, characteristic of, or proceeding from a divine being.
- Excellent or delightful in a supremely good way: Describes something so wonderful it seems to be of supernatural origin or perfection.
- Devoted to religious worship or service: Pertaining to the service or adoration of a deity.
Noun:
- A theologian or member of the clergy: A person who is learned in theology or is a religious official.
Verb:
- To discover or guess something by intuition or insight: To perceive or understand something through seemingly supernatural insight or keen perception.
- To search for underground water or minerals using a divining rod: To practice dowsing.
Examples of Usage
Adjective:
- They sought divine guidance before making the decision.
- The chocolate cake tasted absolutely divine.
- The choir performed the divine liturgy.
Noun:
- The divine gave a sermon on compassion.
Verb:
- She seemed to divine his true intentions.
- The old farmer could divine water with a forked stick.
Advanced Usage
"the divine" (noun, often capitalized): Used to refer to God or a supreme being collectively.
- They prayed to the Divine for mercy.
"divine right": The doctrine that a monarch's right to rule comes directly from God, not from the people.
- Kings once ruled by divine right.
Variants and Related Words
- Divinely (adverb): In a divine manner; by or from God.
- She sang divinely.
- Divination (noun): The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.
- He practiced divination using tarot cards.
- Diviner (noun): A person who divines, especially one who uses a divining rod.
- The diviner located a new well for the village.
Synonyms
- Adjective (godly): Heavenly, sacred, holy, celestial.
- Adjective (excellent): Exquisite, superb, wonderful, sublime.
- Verb (intuit): Discern, perceive, guess, surmise.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Divine" does not commonly form phrasal verbs. Its verbal use is typically transitive.) - To divine something from something: To intuit or deduce something from clues or evidence. - I could divine from her expression that she was unhappy.
Related Idioms
- Divine intervention: Direct involvement by God or a deity in human affairs, often to cause a miraculous event.
- They survived the crash, which they called divine intervention.
- A divine comedy: An allusion to Dante's work, sometimes used to describe a situation that is both profoundly serious and ironically humorous in a cosmic or fateful way.
- The series of misunderstandings was like a divine comedy.
Adjective
- being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
- her pies were simply divine
- the divine Shakespeare
- an elysian meal
- an inspired performance
- appropriate to or befitting a god
- the divine strength of Achilles
- a man of godlike sagacity
- man must play God for he has acquired certain godlike powers-R.H.Roveref
- devoted to or in the service or worship of a deity
- divine worship
- divine liturgy
- being or having the nature of a god; 'tis God-like to create"-J.G.Saxe
- the custom of killing the divine king upon any serious failure of his...powers-J.G.Frazier
- the divine will
- the divine capacity for love
- 'Tis wise to learn
- resulting from divine providence
- providential care
- a providential visitation
- emanating from God
- divine judgment
- divine guidance
- everything is black or white...satanic or godly-Saturday Review
Noun
- a clergyman or other person in religious orders
- terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
Verb
- search by divining, as if with a rod
- He claimed he could divine underground water
- perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers