blessings

noun

plural of blessing
1
as in prayers
a prayer calling for divine care, protection, or favor that rabbi always ends the service with a short blessing

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in benefits
something that provides happiness or does good for a person or thing winning the lottery shortly after being laid off was an unexpected blessing

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in approvals
an acceptance of something as satisfactory Mr. Roberts promptly gave his blessing to his daughter's choice of husband

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in consecrations
the act of making something holy through religious ritual traditionally, worshippers kneel during the blessing of the communion wafers

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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 blessings While the fire was horrible, Hong said some blessings have emerged from the tragedy. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026 Better Over Time should give him an opportunity to expunge his anguish and, if not necessarily heal, then find clarity on why his preternatural talent has brought a mixture of blessings and frustration. — Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2026 Venus spends all month in a supportive sextile with Jupiter, which multiplies your blessings through the sheer force of your support network. — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026 Ethnographic research from northwest Armenia, published in 2024, describes people bathing the baby while reciting prayers and blessings. — Shushan Karapetian, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026 Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and humanist blessings closed the ceremony. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 The reporters would ask questions about the latest intrigue, while the pilgrims would ask for prayers and blessings. — Scott Detrow, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026 The mother shared a meme that references a Bible verse from the story of Job, whose loyalty God tested by allowing Satan to destroy all the blessings in his life, including his 10 children. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 1 Oct. 2026 McIngvale’s offer came a day after the White Sox received a letter from Pope Leo XIV, who grew up in Chicago and is a longtime White Sox fan, sending his blessings to the team. — Matt Young, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blessings
  1. prayers
  2. benefits
  3. approvals
  4. consecrations
  5. petitions
  6. boons
  7. favors
  8. gifts
Noun
  • Jewish clergy, interfaith leaders and community members came together at the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza for a 45-minute service featuring prayers, songs and firsthand accounts of the violence that unfolded 88 years ago.
    — Eva Andersen, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Sometimes Lisa Huberman, the social action engagement associate at UMBC Hillel, arrives with Jewish students preparing for a Friday evening gathering while Muslim students are concluding their prayers.
    — Kyle Desrosiers-Levine, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of prayers
Noun
  • In addition, eligible employees will receive severance benefits and outplacement services to support their search for a new job.
    — Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Two states – Arkansas and Tennessee – have enacted laws that would ban conglomerates from simultaneously managing prescription benefits and running retail and mail-order pharmacies.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of benefits
Noun
  • Each agency has its own system, so this proposal would develop a centralized system to submit applications and to receive permits and approvals.
    — Digital Producer, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Major railroad agreements and regulatory approvals are still outstanding.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of approvals
Noun
  • Cruz, who traveled to Switzerland to witness the consecrations, said the first Sunday after returning to the Mount Holly church looked much like any other.
    — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 15 July 2026
  • Wednesday's ceremony came 38 years to the day after Lefebvre was excommunicated alongside those four bishops — including Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who led Wednesday's consecrations and was again excommunicated Thursday.
    — Noah LaBelle, NPR, 2 July 2026
Definition of consecrations
Noun
  • Most of these people were freed through habeas corpus petitions, which let detainees challenge the government’s legal right to imprison them.
    — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The state spends more than $200 million a year to adjudicate automatic death penalty appeals and habeas corpus petitions for inmates who, in all likelihood, will never be executed, according to a 2025 report by the Habeas Corpus Resource Center.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of petitions
Noun
  • Lower agricultural revenue would leave the government with less money, and lower domestic food production would drive up consumer prices—both boons to the most extreme Peronist populists running against Milei in 2027.
    — DAN RESTREPO, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Live captioning, one of the biggest boons of waveguide smart glasses, also works well on the MemoMind.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of boons
Noun
  • The Cowboys’ offense did the defense no favors, giving Indianapolis a short field in the first half that the Colts converted on, and scoring just three points for most of the second half.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The Moon’s meeting with retrograde Mercury favors reviewing what your words communicate.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of favors
Noun
  • There is something so beautiful about loving someone through every season of their life … Kenny, one of the greatest gifts of my life has been getting to know you through all your different chapters.
    — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2026
  • So take a gander at our favorite gifts of the season, now vibrating and twitching with life.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of gifts

Browse Nearby Words

blessing
blessings
blew
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Cite this Entry

“Blessings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blessings. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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