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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Here was a symbolic way of purging Hindu society of untouchability.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
-
Burgum purged the department of roughly 13,000 staffers last year and announced efforts to reduce its workforce by even more in April.—
Joseph Konig,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Timothée Chalamet stays blessed.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Prior to the meeting, dancers in Indigenous garments blessed organizers and local students, who led a procession from the nearby Alum Rock Youth Center on White Road to the district’s offices around the corner.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Verb
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She was hooked up to a hemodialysis machine where her blood flowed out of her body to be purified and was then transferred back into her body where it was reabsorbed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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There it is filtered and purified before being fed into the Reflecting Pool.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
In the reading, 1 Kings Chapter 9, God warns King Solomon against turning away from him as Solomon consecrates the temple in Jerusalem.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
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The vessels themselves are inspired by the Catholic ritual of Olea Sancta (Holy Oils), the three sacred oils used in sacraments and blessings and consecrated during the annual Chrism Mass in Holy Week.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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