as in hymn
a religious song
the monks offered up a canticle at dawn on Easter morning
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Recent Examples of canticle
Gustave Doré, the celebrated French illustrator, did elaborate engravings for the three canticles in the mid-19th century and devoted 99 out of 135 of them to Dante Alighieri’s darkest scenes.
—
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
That’s the opening line of Slipknot’s rage-rot canticle.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
The leaders of this communal canticle were the women of Boygenius — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2023
The first was Bach’s glorious 12-part canticle, premiered in 1723 as the conclusion of the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig as a sort of meet-your-new-cantor demonstration of his powers.
—Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
That’s the opening line of Slipknot’s rage-rot canticle.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
The leaders of this communal canticle were the women of Boygenius — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2023
The first was Bach’s glorious 12-part canticle, premiered in 1723 as the conclusion of the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig as a sort of meet-your-new-cantor demonstration of his powers.
—Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canticle
Noun
-
Instead, the words written in her autobiography served as the guide for the two-hour service filled with hymns and scriptures, as Christ Episcopal Church rector Father Jonathan Archer read a passage from the book which was published in 2000 during her memorial on Friday.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
-
It was written by James Weldon Johnson, who considered the piece a hymn.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Many on social media have criticized her, saying the anthem should be respected.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
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The organist even got into the spirit, playing the Olympic anthem before the spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels.—
Devon Henderson,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Gallagher is also excited about Psalms of the People (Salim Nan Daoine), Jack Archer’s Gaelic-language documentary about Scotland’s cultural heritage of traditional Gaelic psalm singing.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
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Like a typical Catholic Mass, scriptures, psalms and gospels will be read and the Holy Communion will be given.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Canticle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canticle. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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