deity

noun de·i·ty \ ˈdē-ə-tē , ˈdā- \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of deity

plural deities

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

b capitalized : god 1, supreme being

2 : a god (see ¹god 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

See deity defined for English-language learners

See deity defined for kids

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 of deity from the Web

Puppet deities—the hideous mug of Brute Force for one, a sort of Terry Gilliam meets Dragon Ball Z monstrosity—parade into view and browbeat him.

— max maller, Chicago Reader, "Prometheus Bound remains inert," 10 May 2018
The baseball deities, trying to make up for almost everything going the Dodgers' way last season, have tipped the scales the other way this season.

— houston mitchell, latimes.com, "Dodgers Dugout: It's official, the Dodgers are cursed," 4 May 2018
People responded as if some sort of deity — the Great Stone Face — or a cherished relative or the state’s very identity had crumbled to the ground.

— felice belman, BostonGlobe.com, "15 years ago, N.H. mourned for a giant rock," 3 May 2018
Hall's son Rodney Hall continues to operate FAME Studios, which in the last year has hosted recording sessions by stars including Southern rock deity Gregg Allman, pop star Demi Lovato and most recently Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

— matt wake, AL.com, "Network TV scoops up Johnny Depp's 'Muscle Shoals' show," 26 Apr. 2018
Middle-of-the-road designers: Crossroads is a secondhand sanctuary for barely used contemporary brands from the likes of Joie, Halston and ready-to-wear bridge deities like DKNY.

— valerie demicheva, San Francisco Chronicle, "Upcycle, recycle or donate: Where to unload unwanted clothes.," 20 Apr. 2018
Twenty of the petitioners were Jews who wanted a Hanukkah menorah on the grounds each December, with the rest Christians or others who worshipped no deity but wanted to take a stand on religious fairness, according to the foundation.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Navy probes Bible placement in military display at Okinawa hospital," 6 Apr. 2018
The temple—the longest wooden building in Japan, filled with 1,000 many-armed statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon—was a lively tableau.

— alex postman, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Mother and Son Search for Zen in Kyoto," 29 Mar. 2018
In other words, Crews-Chubb’s rough and tumble compositions are not about Assyrian kings, monkey deities, African freedom fighters, untranslatable codices or belfies.

— david pagel, latimes.com, "An ugly kind of pretty: The unruly painting of Daniel Crews-Chubb," 14 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of deity

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year