deity

noun

de·​i·​ty ˈdē-ə-tē  ˈdā- 

plural deities

1

a

: the rank or essential nature of a god or goddess : divinity

b

Deity : god sense 1, supreme being

2

: a god (see god entry 1 sense 2) or goddess

the deities of ancient Greece

3

: one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful

… such established American deities as Daniel Boone, Kit Carson …

—J. D. Hart

the deities of the banking world

Synonyms of deity

• god

Examples of deity in a Sentence

to the ancient Greeks, Zeus was the deity who ruled over the sky and weather, and Poseidon was god of the sea

we prayed to the Deity for guidance

Recent Examples on the Web

Dean boasts a great lineage coming from the prestigious BRIT School that produced music deities like Adele and Amy Winehouse. —Christopher Claxton, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2025

Her hair and camp dress still had some of the special paint used to transform the 11-year-old girl into Changing Woman, the Apache deity who was the first woman of her people, gifted with spiritual and physical power during the Sunrise Dance, one of the Apache people’s most enduring ceremonies. —Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 4 Nov. 2025

Fossils are the devil’s trick; some benign deity sneezed to make the world. —Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025

Notably, archaeologists unearthed a large piece of amber and a terracotta female head used in ceremonies dedicated to water and fertility deities, Archaeology Newsstated. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deitee, from Anglo-French deité, from Late Latin deitat-, deitas, from Latin deus god; akin to Old English Tīw, god of war, Latin divus god, dies day, Greek dios heavenly, Sanskrit deva heavenly, god

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for deity

• contemporaneity
• heterogeneity
• inhomogeneity
• homogeneity
• simultaneity
• spontaneity

Kids Definition

deity

noun

de·​i·​ty ˈdē-ət-ē 

plural deities

1

a

: divinity sense 2

b

capitalized : god sense 1

the Deity

2

a

: god sense 2

b

: goddess sense 1

Etymology

Middle English deitee "the nature of being divine," from early French deité (same meaning), derived from Latin deus "god" — related to adieu, adios