de·vo·tion·al
di-ˈvō-shnəl 
-shə-nᵊl,
dē-
: of, relating to, or characterized by devotion
devotional literature
: a short worship service
Synonyms
Examples of devotional in a Sentence
Adjective
a religious bookstore with an extensive stock of devotional literature
Recent Examples on the Web
Kalpana Jain, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2023
But four minutes in, the synth surges to the front, and then again a few minutes later, cresting in an ecstatic dirge reminiscent of Coltrane’s great devotional music.
—Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
At Madonna’s Celebration tour, which opened in London last weekend, the crowd’s costumes were decidedly more muted, but no less devotional.
—Shaad D’souza, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2023
His new book of devotional readings, On Earth as in Heaven, is to be published in March 2022 by HarperOne.
—TIME, 20 Oct. 2023
For all of its devotional moments, Javelin is also riddled with emotional contradictions.
—Leah Lu, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023
So in 2018, Jakes Roberts started Woman Evolve, which has become a women’s empowerment brand with a podcast, weekly devotional newsletter and book club.
—Joy Ashford, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
In life, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was known to her fellow nuns for her devotional poetry, her sense of humor and her fierce piety.
—Ruth Graham, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
The current Catholic-core is more explicit in its appropriation of devotional signifiers, complete with palm rosaries and vintage altarpieces.
—Sofia Andrade, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023
Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
The devotional is meant to be a resource to push readers to dig deeper into the text on their own.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
Her mother had read devotionals to the couple there.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
The illustration referenced by Clarke is typical of personalized devotional and prayer books at the time.
—V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
The Christian publishing world is chock-full of devotionals, collections of daily spiritual texts that sell at a modest, regular pace through gift shops and church bookstores.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023
Megan Poirier, 24, a lesbian ex-ICOC member who was raised in ICOC churches in Boston and for a few years in Texas, first saw Hammond speak at a Friday night teen devotional outside of Boston almost a decade ago.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2023
Doors will open at 6:15 p.m., and there will be a special pre-show party at 4:15 p.m. and an early entry and devotional at 5:30 p.m.
—Staff Report, Chicago Tribune, 28 July 2023
Events run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; a devotional by Gail Miller, former owner of the Utah Jazz, starts at 10 a.m.
Wednesday-Monday, July 19-24
Utah Days of ‘47 Rodeo • Five days of rodeo events (no events on Sunday, July 23), with gold, silver and bronze medals going to the top riders.
—Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 July 2023
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Adjective
Transcending religious lines Kabir is one of the most prominent writers associated with the bhakti movement, a devotional movement that flourished in northern India from the 13th century to the 17th century.
—Kalpana Jain, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2023
But four minutes in, the synth surges to the front, and then again a few minutes later, cresting in an ecstatic dirge reminiscent of Coltrane’s great devotional music.
—Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
At Madonna’s Celebration tour, which opened in London last weekend, the crowd’s costumes were decidedly more muted, but no less devotional.
—Shaad D’souza, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2023
His new book of devotional readings, On Earth as in Heaven, is to be published in March 2022 by HarperOne.
—TIME, 20 Oct. 2023
For all of its devotional moments, Javelin is also riddled with emotional contradictions.
—Leah Lu, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023
So in 2018, Jakes Roberts started Woman Evolve, which has become a women’s empowerment brand with a podcast, weekly devotional newsletter and book club.
—Joy Ashford, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
In life, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was known to her fellow nuns for her devotional poetry, her sense of humor and her fierce piety.
—Ruth Graham, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023
The current Catholic-core is more explicit in its appropriation of devotional signifiers, complete with palm rosaries and vintage altarpieces.
—Sofia Andrade, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023
Noun
We Were Made For, a devotional that unlike many out there, is completely focused on centering God as opposed to centering the reader.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
The devotional is meant to be a resource to push readers to dig deeper into the text on their own.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
Her mother had read devotionals to the couple there.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
The illustration referenced by Clarke is typical of personalized devotional and prayer books at the time.
—V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
The Christian publishing world is chock-full of devotionals, collections of daily spiritual texts that sell at a modest, regular pace through gift shops and church bookstores.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023
Megan Poirier, 24, a lesbian ex-ICOC member who was raised in ICOC churches in Boston and for a few years in Texas, first saw Hammond speak at a Friday night teen devotional outside of Boston almost a decade ago.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2023
Doors will open at 6:15 p.m., and there will be a special pre-show party at 4:15 p.m. and an early entry and devotional at 5:30 p.m.
—Staff Report, Chicago Tribune, 28 July 2023
Events run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; a devotional by Gail Miller, former owner of the Utah Jazz, starts at 10 a.m.
Wednesday-Monday, July 19-24
Utah Days of ‘47 Rodeo • Five days of rodeo events (no events on Sunday, July 23), with gold, silver and bronze medals going to the top riders.
—Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devotional.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near devotional
Cite this Entry
“Devotional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devotional. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on devotional
Britannica English: Translation of devotional for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about devotional
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