sanctify
/'sæɳktifai/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To make holy or sacred; to consecrate: To set apart as or declare to be holy, often through a religious ceremony or ritual.
- To purify from sin; to free from moral guilt: To cleanse spiritually or make morally pure.
- To give religious or moral sanction to; to justify: To make something legitimate or acceptable, especially from a religious or ethical standpoint.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- The priest will sanctify the new chapel with a special ceremony.
- Many believe that suffering can sanctify the soul.
- He tried to sanctify his questionable actions by claiming they were for a greater good.
Advanced Usage
"to sanctify oneself": To purify or dedicate oneself to a holy purpose.
- Before the ritual, the devotees will sanctify themselves through prayer and fasting.
"sanctified by tradition": Made sacred or legitimate through long-established custom.
- The practice, though archaic, is sanctified by centuries of tradition.
Variants and Related Words
Sanctification (n): The process of making something holy or sacred.
- The sanctification of the site took many years.
Sanctified (adj): Made holy; consecrated.
- They drank from the sanctified water.
Sanctifier (n): One who or that which sanctifies.
Synonyms
- Consecrate: To declare or set apart as sacred.
- Hallow: To make holy; to honor as holy.
- Purify: To make pure, especially from sin or guilt.
- Bless: To confer divine favor or sanctity upon.
Antonyms
- Desecrate: To treat a sacred place or thing with violent disrespect.
- Profane: To treat something sacred with irreverence or disrespect.
- Defile: To make unclean or impure.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "The end sanctifies the means": A proverb suggesting that a desired outcome can justify the methods used to achieve it, even if those methods are questionable.
- He operated on the dangerous principle that the end sanctifies the means.
Verb
- make pure or free from sin or guilt
- he left the monastery purified
- render holy by means of religious rites