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
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The ceremony included Colombia's national anthem but also the rebel hymn of the Border Commandos -- the lyrics of which make no mention of the group's crimes.
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For centuries, spiritual hymns have kept hope alive, even more so for the enslaved.
Noun
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Pre-show festivities kicked off the event with DJs playing hits from their homeland and classic party anthems from the United States.
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My kumbaya heart nevertheless jumped as the anthem continued.
Noun
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Take The Music Lesson, a study of a young woman playing the virginal, closely watched by a gentleman, which Graham-Dixon reads as a depiction of Collegiants chastely performing and singing psalms.
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Over the course of Gregory Orr’s long career, his poems have become increasingly incantatory, more and more like chants or psalms, repeating, reformulating, reaching for the edges of the same rich metaphors.
Cite this Entry
“Canticle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canticle. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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