beatify

verb

be·at·i·fy | \ bē-ˈa-tə-ˌfī

How to pronounce beatify (audio)

\

beatified; beatifying

Definition of beatify

transitive verb

1 : to make supremely happy

2 Christianity : to declare to have attained the blessedness of heaven and authorize the title "Blessed" and limited public religious honor She was beatified six years after her death.

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Examples of beatify in a Sentence

She was beatified by the Pope one hundred years after her death.

Recent Examples on the Web Sheen, who before his death in 1979 was famous for his radio and TV preaching, had been scheduled to be beatified — the last step before sainthood — in a ceremony in Peoria on Dec. 21. — Washington Post, "Catholic dioceses spar over Archbishop Sheen sainthood," 12 Dec. 2019 Pope John Paul II -- who in 1979 became the first pontiff to visit Mexico -- beatified then canonized Diego as a saint. — Laura Rodríguez, chicagotribune.com, "Why 200,000 people travel each December on foot, by horse and even semitruck to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines," 11 Dec. 2019 Dehon, who founded the priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus religious order in 1877, likely would have been beatified had Pope John Paul II lived a few weeks longer. — Washington Post, "Rochester diocese request led to beatification delay," 6 Dec. 2019 Francis will pray at the sanctuary for Thailand’s first martyred priest, Nicolas Bunkerd Kitbamrung, who was beatified in 2000. — Washington Post, "Pope’s Asian agenda: Atomic bombs, martyrs, family reunion," 17 Nov. 2019 Like many mothers of famous men, Mary Ball Washington has been the object of both beatifying praise and disdainful condemnation. — Kathleen Duval, WSJ, "‘The Widow Washington’ Review: Mary, Mother of George," 7 June 2019 Last year, the seven monks and 12 other religious sisters and Catholics killed during Algeria’s civil war were beatified in Algiers. — Amira El Masaiti, The Seattle Times, "Pope tells Moroccans “we are brothers and sisters”," 31 Mar. 2019 Francis declared Romero a martyr in 2015, and Romero was beatified that same year. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "Oscar Romero, a martyr for social justice and the newest Catholic saint, explained," 15 Oct. 2018 Elena Mortara, who led a public protest by the family and Italy’s Jewish community when St. John Paul II beatified Pius in 2000, dismissed the value of the even the Spanish version of the memoir as a document. — Washington Post, "Memoir of secretly baptized Jewish boy under new scrutiny," 20 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beatify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near beatify

beatific vision

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Cite this Entry

“Beatify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beatify. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for beatify

beatify

verb

English Language Learners Definition of beatify

in the Roman Catholic Church : to give a dead person a title of honor for being very good and holy

See the full definition for beatify in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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