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

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

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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

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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 bless Disneyland is blessed with an in-demand product, but every commodity has its limits. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 No sooner than the broadcast of the Braves’ Wild Card Series game began Tuesday, showing pockets of empty seats at Truist Park, the social-media geniuses blessed us with their bouquets of wisdom. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026 Fashion designer Simon Port Jacquemus listed it among his favorite addresses in Vogue, and French street artist Invader unofficially blessed the building with one of his trademark mosaics. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026 As Edward Cullen, a vampire blessed with brooding, Byronic good looks, Pattinson captivated audiences, becoming a heartthrob for a rising generation of moviegoers. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 27 Sep. 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
  • The King’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, is also expected to be consecrated during the ceremony.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of consecrate
Verb
  • The inaugural Easterseals Disability Arts & Culture Awards (The Darcys) crowned its first winners on Saturday, celebrating outstanding achievement in authentic disability representation across film, television and media.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The Bruins’ defense withstood the Ducks’ final push and celebrated a signature victory during a turnaround season.
    — Elias Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of celebrate
Verb
  • Woman’s Day is reporting that a book Meghan gifted Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, was recently listed on eBay for £19,999 ($26,000).
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Along the way, the book becomes about something else—the care gifted by strangers who arrive miraculously, via form filling and phone calls, and then vanish for ever.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of gift
Verb
  • Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, who serves as president of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, expressed her appreciation for the many years that Thompson dedicated himself to the state.
    — Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Worshippers lined Cybele’s cracks with silver and installed her in a temple dedicated in 191 BCE on Palatine Hill, considered to be the birthplace of Rome.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dedicate
Verb
  • The one-minute television spot includes Poindexter’s daughters praising their father for his work ethic and dedication to their family.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Smoke’N Ash is also praised for Patrick Hicks’ brisket, pork ribs and rib tips, along with an extensive menu of desserts.
    — Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of praise
Verb
  • An essential state role, parallel to provisioning basic services like education and healthcare, is endowing a wide open aesthetic field of form and meaning and collective sensibility.
    — Anna Kornbluh, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Gorgoni shot his images in the snow, endowing Shift with a stark graphic identity devoid of human occupancy.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of endow
Verb
  • Guns became sacred, and violence was increasingly justified, if not sanctified.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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
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Cite this Entry

“Bless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bless. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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