veneration

noun ven·er·a·tion \ ˌve-nə-ˈrā-shən \

Updated on: 9 May 2018

Definition of veneration

1 : respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent of a person

2 : the act of venerating

3 : the condition of one that is venerated

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Recent Examples of veneration from the Web

Yet, as Mr Kurtz-Phelan makes clear, his embassy started in late 1945 in a mood of great optimism, founded largely on veneration of the man himself.

— The Economist, "George Marshall won the war and rebuilt Europe, but lost China," 3 May 2018
Monstrances are used for the veneration of hosts in the Catholic Church.

— james rogers, Fox News, "King of rage: Henry VIII’s bloodthirsty letter demands monk’s brutal death," 2 May 2018
These days the vibe is more veneration than intimidation.

— stephanie apstein, SI.com, "At Augusta, Tiger Woods Was Caught Between Being a Star and an Elder Statesman," 8 Apr. 2018
The ritual Posset performed was part of Benin's traditional religion, Vodun, which places great importance on the veneration of ancestors, who are believed to linger alongside the living.

— connor sheets, AL.com, "Hamilton woman dies in one-car crash in Frankiln County," 18 Feb. 2018
In this view, the problem isn’t the American public’s veneration of the armed services above all other institutions, or the gross misallocation of resources and preemptive wars that this abets — or even the concept of a military parade, per se.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Military Parade Would Not Be ‘Un-American’," 8 Feb. 2018
Trump-era liberalism, with its emphasis on American global leadership and veneration of federal agencies and the mainstream press, would be easily recognizable to that first generation of Kennedys.

— will rahn, CBS News, "Commentary: Joe Kennedy's night in the sun," 31 Jan. 2018
The veneration of relics isn’t a practice exclusive to Catholicism.

— francis x. rocca, WSJ, "Abuse of Saints’ Relics Presses Vatican to Issue New Rules," 18 Dec. 2017
Steady progress toward therapeutic innovation is positioned squarely alongside a veneration of tradition—the ceremonial white coat, the totemic stethoscope, the solemn and temperate Hippocratic oath.

— nitin k. ahuja, Slate Magazine, "Why Do We Keep Resurrecting the Cautionary Medical Tale?," 3 Oct. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of veneration

Middle English veneracioun, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French veneratiun, borrowed from Latin venerātiōn-, venerātiō "act of soliciting the good will (of a deity), demonstration of respect or awe," from venerārī "to solicit the good will of (a deity), hold in awe, venerate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year