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
Smith helped sanctify Bieber’s public rehabilitations, officiated his wedding, and is now godfather to the Biebers’ baby son, Jack Blues.
—
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
Mitevska also refuses to sanctify Mother Teresa more than necessary, instead portraying her as a strict disciplinarian who believed in organizational practicality as much as in the inherent holiness of children.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025
Though his win was not televised, Bernarr’s instantly memorable — and eternally sanctified — acceptance speech quickly went viral across social media.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
Mitevska also refuses to sanctify Mother Teresa more than necessary, instead portraying her as a strict disciplinarian who believed in organizational practicality as much as in the inherent holiness of children.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025
Though his win was not televised, Bernarr’s instantly memorable — and eternally sanctified — acceptance speech quickly went viral across social media.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctify
Verb
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Order 1 dissolved the ruling Baath Party and removed all senior party members from their government positions, purging the administrative class that ran its ministries, hospitals and schools.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
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The upper stage, known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and its single RL-10 engine, wasn’t able to get the helium gas, used to purge the stage of cryogenic fuel and maintain proper pressure, to flow into it.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And yes, because we are blessed with famous weather, whole neighborhoods and districts can risk spilling out into the sidewalks, where laughs get louder, music gets blasted and the street fashion becomes a runway.—
Elisa Wouk Almino
Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Of Course Jennifer Tilly Has Seen a Ghost Jennifer Tilly is blessed with an abundance of lore.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In a nutshell, wastewater recycling works by first physically filtering the water, then subjecting it to reverse osmosis, and finally purifying it with ultraviolet light.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
25 Feb. 2026
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Fears washed away, cleanse and purify.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Feb. 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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Even if all these sunny promises are enshrined in contracts, built into budgets, and consecrated with good intentions, there are still plenty of ways the whole project could go kerflooey.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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