consecrate

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb consecrate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of consecrate are dedicate, devote, and hallow. While all these words mean "to set apart for a special and often higher end," consecrate stresses investment with a solemn or sacred quality.

consecrate a church to the worship of God

When can dedicate be used instead of consecrate?

While the synonyms dedicate and consecrate are close in meaning, dedicate implies solemn and exclusive devotion to a sacred or serious use or purpose.

dedicated her life to medical research

When would devote be a good substitute for consecrate?

The meanings of devote and consecrate largely overlap; however, devote is likely to imply compelling motives and often attachment to an objective.

devoted his evenings to study

When is it sensible to use hallow instead of consecrate?

In some situations, the words hallow and consecrate are roughly equivalent. However, hallow, often differing little from dedicate or consecrate, may distinctively imply an attribution of intrinsic sanctity.

battlegrounds hallowed by the blood of patriots

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 consecrate
Adjective
Lana Del Rey doesn’t toy with signs—of American glamour and its decay, of female melancholia and racial desire—so much as consecrate them. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2023
Verb
Later that evening, Rocky himself made an appearance, effectively consecrating his own corner of the fair and Design.Space as a whole. Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2025 Bergoglio was consecrated into the priesthood as a Jesuit, a religious order explicitly averse to moving up within the ranks of the church hierarchy. Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for consecrate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for consecrate
Adjective
  • Tender, fresh okra and holy trinity pepper, onions, and celery add a lovely contrast of texture while contributing pops of color.
    Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
  • In one thirteenth-century version of the story, a holy man sees the demon in church, dragging a huge sack.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Faced with a highly dynamic and competitive market, many CEOs are dedicating more time to thinking about, setting and executing strategy.
    Sarah Abbott, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Activists’ calls for more attention on the cases led to federal officials from former President Joe Biden’s administration dedicating more resources and initiatives to addressing missing and killed Indigenous people.
    Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • As long as the message hasn’t changed and people are still blessed and inspired, that’s all that matters.
    Kyle Denis, Billboard, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Sands points to data showing that the world has gotten substantially better at finding people with TB since the World Health Organization blessed the AI technology in 2021 and released a toolkit on how to properly calibrate it to each local population and setting.
    NPR, NPR, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Added to the trauma of grief and sudden eviction under threat of reprisal, Adelaida has to endure seeing the sacred mementos of her mother’s life trashed by the thuggish new squatters.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The most surprising ghost story of the season isn’t horror at all, but rather the story of one of America’s great artists wrestling spirits and trying to contain them on a cassette, which serves as its own kind of sacred vessel.
    Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Even with other democratic countries, Biden and his team devoted little attention to expanding free trade agreements and fueled economic tensions with allies, especially South Korea and Japan.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Even at places that had multiple televisions, the bar staff and managers were not willing to devote one of the TVs to a women's game.
    Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • But there is more: a little way back from the water, knuckle-like boulders of sandstone or some other friable rock sharpen the ambience of a consecrated space.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Churches are fine, but consecrated Earth is dangerous to them.
    Jennifer Maas, Variety, 10 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Consecrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/consecrate. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on consecrate

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