1
as in to purge
to free from moral guilt or blemish especially ceremonially
received the sacrament of penance, whereby they were sanctified and restored to divine grace
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to bless
to make holy through prayers or ritual
sanctify the bread for Communion
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Recent Examples of sanctify
For King, defending a people did not mean sanctifying a state.
—
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
But months later, the campaign to sanctify Kirk appears to have backfired in some ways.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
An overexposed photo shows Miralba from the torso up, looking into a white sky, with a ray of light almost sanctifying her face.
—Camila Osorio, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
But months later, the campaign to sanctify Kirk appears to have backfired in some ways.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
An overexposed photo shows Miralba from the torso up, looking into a white sky, with a ray of light almost sanctifying her face.
—Camila Osorio, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctify
Verb
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The data shows that black and brown people spend much longer time, in longer lines, purging people, people literally showing up and not knowing that their names have been purged from the rolls.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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On defense, the Kings have purged talent with limited or no value in return in recent years.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Once the procession — with children sitting on top of the pole in a long row — arrived at the market square, the Catholic priest, who had just finished his Mayday Mass, blessed the tree and the young men with holy water.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
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On a recent weekend, we were blessed with an explosive infusion of culture in Broward County.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Moringa trees have been used to purify water for millennia, with evidence of their use by ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, said Adriano Gonçalves dos Reis, a study author and a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology of São Paulo State University.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
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To meet their water needs, astronauts rely on closed-loop recycling systems, like NASA’s advanced Water Recovery System, which can recover and purify up to 93 percent of wastewater onboard.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Many Pentecostals, for example, fast for a period in January to consecrate the year ahead.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
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The ashes are consecrated with holy water and incense before being administered.—
Catherine Messier,
The Providence Journal,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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