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blessing

noun
bless·​ing | \ ˈble-siŋ How to pronounce blessing (audio) \

Definition of blessing

1a : the act or words of one that blesses say the blessing over the wine a priestly blessing
b : approval, encouragement asked her parents for their blessing before he proposed
2 : a thing conducive to happiness or welfare My daughter is a blessing to me in my old age. Their absence turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Count your blessings.
3 : grace (see grace entry 1 sense 5) said at a meal said the blessing before dinner
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Synonyms & Antonyms for blessing

Synonyms

benediction, benison

Antonyms

anathema, curse, execration, imprecation, malediction

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Examples of blessing in a Sentence

Presumably he was acting with the government's blessing. They got married without their parents' blessing. We asked the Lord's blessing on us and on our project. He said a blessing before the meal.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 This, in the end, was a blessing because piecing the flat out of my memory was a fascinating and powerful process. — Vanessa Lawrence, ELLE Decor, "This London Flat is the Site of A Director's First Cinematic Love," 20 May 2019 Losing out in the battle for Family Dollar looks to have been a blessing in disguise. — Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, "Time for Change at Dollar Tree," 7 Jan. 2019 Ultimately, Kate and Toby later go home and convince themselves that IVF was never a good idea and maybe this is a blessing in disguise. — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "The This Is Us Season 3 Premiere Had the Perfect Deja Moment and I'm Crying Again," 26 Sep. 2018 But Smith counts that as a blessing of sorts, as the time away from family has allowed him to focus squarely on football. — Mike Jones, USA TODAY, "As Alex Smith races to get up to speed, Redskins hope QB will help them find new gear," 31 May 2018 Tall Boy needs Jughead's blessing, however, since being FP's son carries a lot of weight in the gang. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "OK, But Who The Heck is Tall Boy on "Riverdale"?," 24 Jan. 2019 From there, the steps are relatively simple and easy to DIY—a true blessing. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Giani's New Paint Kit Lets You DIY A Subway Tile Backsplash For Under $50," 7 Dec. 2018 But this new ambitious objective could actually be a blessing in disguise for NASA's Gateway project. — Anatoly Zak, Popular Mechanics, "NASA: Lunar 'Gateway' Is Still Our Best Bet for Putting Boots on the Moon," 1 Apr. 2019 Pet owners are invited to bring their pets for a blessing on the church lawn, and pets that have passed away will be remembered, the church said. — Jennifer Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "What's happening in Park Ridge: Pet blessing, art exhibit at Sabeel Center," 29 June 2018

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

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First Known Use of blessing

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

History and Etymology for blessing

see bless

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Statistics for blessing

Last Updated

9 Jun 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for blessing

The first known use of blessing was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for blessing

blessing

noun
How to pronounce blessing (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of blessing

: approval that allows or helps you to do something
: help and approval from God
: something that helps you or brings happiness

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

blessing

noun
bless·​ing | \ ˈble-sing\

Kids Definition of blessing

1 : the act of someone who blesses
2 : approval Voters gave their blessing to the plan.
3 : something that makes a person happy or content We enjoy the blessings of peace.
4 : a short prayer She said a blessing before dinner.

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More from Merriam-Webster on blessing

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for blessing

Spanish Central: Translation of blessing

Nglish: Translation of blessing for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of blessing for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about blessing

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