Definition of devotion
1a : religious fervor : pietyb : an act of prayer or private worship —usually used in plural during his morning devotionsc : a religious exercise or practice other than the regular corporate (see corporate 2) worship of a congregation
2a : the act of dedicating something to a cause, enterprise, or activity : the act of devoting the devotion of a great deal of time and energyb : the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal her devotion to the cause filial devotion
3 obsolete : the object of one's devotion
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Examples of devotion in a Sentence
She has cared for the poor with selfless devotion.
The devotion they felt for each other was obvious.
The project will require the devotion of a great deal of time and money.
They spend an hour each morning at their devotions.
Recent Examples of devotion from the Web
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One was a pastoral song lyric about summer memories by the composer Yoshinao Nakada, the other a haiku of Ms. Buechner’s devising about the unrewarded devotion of a New York Mets fan.
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Orwell’s increasingly phlegmatic and introverted personality, combined with a fierce idealism and a devotion to accuracy in writing, brought him as a writer to fight to protect a private place in that modern world.
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There's a kinship with Prince as well, with vulnerability and spiritual devotion all tangled up in songs of longing.
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Words cannot measure the depth of their devotion, the purity of their love, or the totality of their courage.
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However, over time, Charles and Camilla have proven their devotion to one another, and married in 2005.
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Thousands who gave the last full measure of the devotion, to borrow the words of President Abraham Lincoln, had found themselves in a degraded final resting place at Poplar Grove.
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But the magnetic center is Pattinson, playing a driven man whose ethics may be questionable even if his motivation at all times is rooted in fraternal devotion.
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His steadfast devotion to covering polarizing topics has quickly gained him an audience of likeminded followers.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'devotion'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
When we take a vow, we pledge our devotion—whether to remain true to a partner, to uphold the law, or to honor the word of God. It should be no surprise then that devotion and its related verb devote come from the act of taking a vow. Both words originate from Latin devotus, which is the past participle of devovēre, a union of the prefix de- ("from") and the verb vovēre ("to vow"). Devote was once used as an adjective that could mean either "devout" or "devoted." While devout often connotes faithfulness of a religious nature, the adjective devoted conveys the sense of one's commitment to another through love and loyalty ("a devoted husband and father"; "the singer's devoted fans").
Origin and Etymology of devotion
see devote
Synonym Discussion of devotion
Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms
Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra
DEVOTION Defined for English Language Learners
devotion
playDefinition of devotion for English Language Learners
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: a feeling of strong love or loyalty : the quality of being devoted
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: the use of time, money, energy, etc., for a particular purpose
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devotions : prayer, worship, or other religious activities that are done in private rather than in a religious service
DEVOTION Defined for Kids
devotion
playDefinition of devotion for Students
1 : deep love or loyalty
2 : an act of giving (as effort or time) to something His devotion of many hours of work was rewarded.
3 : a religious exercise or practice (as prayers) especially that is private
Learn More about devotion
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See words that rhyme with devotion Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for devotion Spanish Central: Translation of devotion Nglish: Translation of devotion for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of devotion for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about devotion
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