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 Every now and then, the world blesses us with a day so full of sports that the hardest part is trying to figure out how to watch everything. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 So far, his scheming hasn’t been all that productive, and with Saeed inching into the case, Johnny is more likely to get benched with Molly, who’s mostly there to say lines of expository dialogue, bless her. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 And while he’s been blessed by natural talent and physicality, his rise through the system has been a journey of sacrifice and education. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026 But they were blessed by an angel named Maggie an hour before Tribal with not one but two advantages. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 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
  • In Sugar Land, Texas, a 90-foot statue of the deity Hanuman, consecrated in 2024 at a temple complex, continues to draw disparaging comments, including one YouTube personality who recently urged its demolition.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The King’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, is also expected to be consecrated during the ceremony.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of consecrate
Verb
  • For the last five decades, the CZMA has been celebrated as a bipartisan co-management framework that gave coastal and Great Lakes states the power to review and object to federal projects that affect their shorelines.
    — Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In her new role, Danielle will help celebrate her aunt's life and accomplishments while offering a personal perspective on the woman behind the music, according to a press release announcing the appointment.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of celebrate
Verb
  • The fragrance is lovely, but the glass vessel—black with just a pop of green—is what really makes this gifting appropriate.
    — Kara McGrath, Allure, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Opened in 1923, La Mamounia originated as a 18th-century estate gifted by Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah and blends Arab-Andalusian heritage with Art Deco glamour.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of gift
Verb
  • But, the office said, the Los Angeles Police Department dedicates additional units during peak periods of congestion in the Lake Hollywood area to conduct traffic and parking enforcement.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The over 200 Invitation Homes associates who live and work in Georgia dedicate themselves to providing our local residents with a positive experience throughout their stay with us.
    — Monique John, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of dedicate
Verb
  • The self-styling of Rider’s shows has been widely praised, as has the scenography of the re-see, which offers an original approach to presenting products through accumulation, layering and a play on color variations or monochromatic schemes.
    — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Paul praised the concept of residential cruising but said the shipowner lacked the expertise to make the business financially sustainable.
    — Sopheng Cheang, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of praise
Verb
  • Senna holds an immortal presence in modern Formula 1 for the manner of his racing—ferocious, endowed with grace—and for his untimely death.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Someone once said that the German psyche has a tendency to endow the inanimate with a soul, and in my home that thought was illustrated one hundred times over.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 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 2 Nov. 2026.

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