bless

verb

ˈbles How to pronounce bless (audio)
Definition of blessnext
1
as in to consecrate
to make holy through prayers or ritual the priest blessed the water, thus allowing it to be used as holy water for various rites

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to celebrate
to proclaim the glory of bless the name of God

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to gift
to furnish freely or naturally with some power, quality, or attribute blessed with a knack for glib conversation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bless The Gators are returning two full-time starters on the offensive line (Knijeah Harris and Caden Jones, bless them), who will be surrounded by a scattering of transfers. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 18 Aug. 2026 Thinking about such consequences while living and thriving among her family (seven boys, three girls) during childhood, Kidjo was blessed with being loved and seen and given the opportunity and the freedom to speak freely and be herself. — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 All this is figured out, with amusing if anticlimactic prescience, by Audrey, who’s blessed with a Carl Sagan-loving scientific mind. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 God bless Rich Moore for being like, this is going to work, this is good. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bless
  1. consecrate
  2. celebrate
  3. gift
  4. dedicate
  5. praise
  6. endow
  7. sanctify
  8. hallow
Verb
  • Still, there were only eight African Anglican clergy in Kenya by 1920, and the first Kenyan bishops would not be consecrated until 1955.
    — Stephanie TriplettAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The Vatican declared the group of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in schism after the SSPX consecrated four bishops in Switzerland without Pope Leo XIV’s approval this month.
    — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 15 July 2026
Definition of consecrate
Verb
  • Some have made videos inspired by 2010s memes, others have celebrated the return of a platform that hearkens back to a time when many felt less pessimistic about the role of social media in their lives.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond Freestyle This July, Coca-Cola’s Freestyle drink dispenser celebrated its 17th anniversary.
    — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of celebrate
Verb
  • With no room for error, Webb walked Andruw Monasterio to gift the Red Sox one run, then plunked Mickey Gasper to gift them another.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • This year’s priciest offerings, which range as high as $85,000, include a gifting suite, locker-room access and private hitting clinics with tennis royalty on practice courts.
    — Ben Ryder Howe, Curbed, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of gift
Verb
  • In the months leading up to the eclipse Charles had dedicated precious down time to prepare his team and test new software for the solar telescopes.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Indie film stalwart Neil LaBute is set to receive a career honor at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, which will dedicate a retrospective to the American filmmaker and playwright and host the world premiere of his latest film, Murderous.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of dedicate
Verb
  • While many viewers praise the former child star as the beating heart of the series, her newfound success comes with heightened tabloid scrutiny, thecoverage wading into everything from her looks to her love life.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Mourinho stressed that actions speak louder than words, praising his squad's growing unity and dedication.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of praise
Verb
  • The show was considered an outlier in its generally sympathetic take on Hill and his conservative views, as well as in terms of the agency with which the show’s creators endowed its working- and middle-class characters.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Waqf— an irrevocable endowment under Islamic law — can endow health, education, and other public goods over generations; they can’t be dismantled unlike government aid budgets.
    — Alaa Murabit, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of endow
Verb
  • The church has always preached that humans are created in God’s image; by assuming the messy fragility of human form, God’s son sanctified human experience.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
  • To say that the Union was sacred and the touchstone of democracy was to strengthen slavery by sanctifying the state that protected it.
    — Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026
Definition of sanctify
Verb
  • Yet, these grounds were hallowed to the African American community.
    — Chip Colwell, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2025
  • In a new political environment in which none of the new leaders could claim to be revolutionary founding fathers, Deng’s blessing hallowed Jiang and Hu and helped ensure that each survived the vicissitudes of succession politics.
    — Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of hallow

Browse Nearby Words

blend (with)
bless
blessed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bless. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cogent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All