1
a
: a song of praise to God
sing a hymn of thanksgiving
b
: a metrical composition adapted for singing in a religious service
a book of hymns
2
: a song of praise or joy
in jolly hymns they praise the god of wine—
John Dryden
John Dryden3
: something resembling a song of praise : paean
The novel is a hymn to childhood and innocence.
: to praise or worship in or as if in hymns (see hymn entry 1)
the heroes who are hymned in this book
: to sing a song that praises God : to sing a hymn
listening to the choir hymn
Synonyms
Examples of hymn in a Sentence
Noun
sing a hymn of praise
our Sunday church services always open with a hymn
Verb
during the honeymoon following the inauguration, newspaper articles seemed to hymn the president's every move
Recent Examples on the WebAaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Two high voices — LACO features soprano Amanda Forsythe and countertenor John Holiday — intertwine with the orchestra turning this hymn to the Virgin Mary’s suffering into unutterable sweetness and treating death as life’s engenderment.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Underwood has said her earliest music memories are from singing hymns in church.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2024
Worshipers then and now would recognize the stained glass and Greek mosaics, the Lenten hymns and prayers, and the Catholic priest in ceremonial vestments at the altar.
—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024
The kids, grouped in teams with names like Rascally Raccoons and Brave Bears, listened to Bible stories, played games, made their own canteens in craft class and sang hymns designed for young voices.
—Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
The chants and the hymns are ordered and peaceful, a recipe for beauty.
—Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
Last night, Zendaya and Florence Pugh – who rarely sing from the same hymn sheet – attended the Mexico premiere of Dune: Part Two in coordinating looks that were aligned not in aesthetic likeness but a certain eccentric spirit.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2024
Williams’ faith inspired her to write jazz hymns and jazz masses that were performed in Catholic churches throughout the States and in Europe.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2024
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
His own work reflects a lifelong love of reading in many genres, and his books brim with the testimonies of poets, artists, and mystics who hymn the delights of sentience.
—Nick Romeo, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2023
Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound.
—Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 17 Aug. 2022
But this wasn’t a flattening of hierarchies of the sort long hymned in Silicon Valley reveries of the online demos.
—Nathaniel Friedman, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2019
Rogers was a benevolent, ditty-dispensing educator in civic virtue and human tolerance, who hymned the miracles of beautiful days and kindly friends, while acknowledging the fallibility of us all.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2019
But the wounds sustained and inflicted by cheating hearts, so often hymned by Nashville balladeers, are a specialty of Mr. Lonergan.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2016
Noun
Hanuman’s significance in Hinduism extends beyond hymns and celebrations to temples and murtis, or sacred depictions of Hindu deities.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Two high voices — LACO features soprano Amanda Forsythe and countertenor John Holiday — intertwine with the orchestra turning this hymn to the Virgin Mary’s suffering into unutterable sweetness and treating death as life’s engenderment.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Underwood has said her earliest music memories are from singing hymns in church.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2024
Worshipers then and now would recognize the stained glass and Greek mosaics, the Lenten hymns and prayers, and the Catholic priest in ceremonial vestments at the altar.
—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024
The kids, grouped in teams with names like Rascally Raccoons and Brave Bears, listened to Bible stories, played games, made their own canteens in craft class and sang hymns designed for young voices.
—Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
The chants and the hymns are ordered and peaceful, a recipe for beauty.
—Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
Last night, Zendaya and Florence Pugh – who rarely sing from the same hymn sheet – attended the Mexico premiere of Dune: Part Two in coordinating looks that were aligned not in aesthetic likeness but a certain eccentric spirit.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2024
Williams’ faith inspired her to write jazz hymns and jazz masses that were performed in Catholic churches throughout the States and in Europe.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2024
Verb
Holst leaves the listener in the far removes of outer space, with Neptune being a study in musical mysticism, highlighted by a hidden hymning women’s chorus, as if heard from a mysterious distance.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
His own work reflects a lifelong love of reading in many genres, and his books brim with the testimonies of poets, artists, and mystics who hymn the delights of sentience.
—Nick Romeo, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2023
Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound.
—Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 17 Aug. 2022
But this wasn’t a flattening of hierarchies of the sort long hymned in Silicon Valley reveries of the online demos.
—Nathaniel Friedman, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2019
Rogers was a benevolent, ditty-dispensing educator in civic virtue and human tolerance, who hymned the miracles of beautiful days and kindly friends, while acknowledging the fallibility of us all.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2019
But the wounds sustained and inflicted by cheating hearts, so often hymned by Nashville balladeers, are a specialty of Mr. Lonergan.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2016
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hymn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to hymn
Dictionary Entries Near hymn
Cite this Entry
“Hymn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hymn. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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