sanctify

verb sanc·ti·fy \ ˈsaŋ(k)-tə-ˌfī \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: sanctify in a Sentence

Definition of sanctify

sanctified; sanctifying

transitive verb

1 : to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use : consecrate

2 : to free from sin : purify

3 a : to impart or impute sacredness, inviolability, or respect to

b : to give moral or social sanction to

4 : to make productive of holiness or piety

observe the day of the sabbath, to sanctify it
—Deuteronomy 5:12 (Douay Version)

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Examples of sanctify in a Sentence

The priest sanctified their marriage.
The constitution sanctified the rights of the people.

Recent Examples of sanctify from the Web

Paul’s defense of slavery, patriarchy and imperial power are used to sanctify an unjust status quo.

— jonathan l. walton, Time, "Why Authoritarians Love to Quote This Bible Passage," 22 June 2018
Whereas America had a vigorous debate around the Iran deal, European elites sanctified it, and the Obama administration praised them for it.

— michael doran and, WSJ, "Time to Make Up After Fighting Over Iran," 17 June 2018
But the songs — one sanctified, the other low-down — also reflect the remarkable range of Franklin's singing on this deep soul classic.

— mikael wood, latimes.com, "The Velvet Underground, Aretha Franklin, Tiny Tim: An alternate history of music in 1968," 20 Apr. 2018
My book is earmarked, underlined, co-signed and sanctified.

— angela helm, The Root, "Brittney Cooper Talks Beyoncé, White Feminists and Black Women’s Oh-So-Eloquent Rage," 12 Apr. 2018
With her spur-of-the-moment turtleneck, Ms. Stone went a long way to democratizing the stark minimalism that designers like Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang were sanctifying in the ’90s.

— rory satran, WSJ, "How to Get Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Radically Simple Style," 11 Apr. 2018
Notwithstanding, the kashrut laws carry powerful ethical lessons – lessons that can help ennoble and sanctify our lives.

— rabbi avi weiss, Jewish Journal, "The rationale for the dietary laws," 9 Apr. 2018
Before it's done Hang Man has simultaneously traduced and refreshed a whole slew of symbols sanctified by black suffering in America.

— tony adler, Chicago Reader, "Racism won’t even let the black hero of Hang Man masturbate in peace," 13 Mar. 2018
This is strange, because after all, sanctifying God is commonly associated with dying for God.

— rabbi avi weiss, Jewish Journal, "Weiss: Remaining true to our roots wherever we are," 11 Dec. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of sanctify

Middle English seintefien, sanctifien, from Anglo-French seintefier, sanctifier, from Late Latin sanctificare, from Latin sanctus sacred — more at saint

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year