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
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sanctify
That was until Pope Leo inadvertently sanctified them in 2026.
—
Paul Keane,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
For King, defending a people did not mean sanctifying a state.
—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 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
Paul Keane,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
For King, defending a people did not mean sanctifying a state.
—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 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 move comes as the UK considers following Australia's lead in enacting social media bans for under-16s, a policy that previously forced Snapchat to purge 415,000 underage accounts in Australia.
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At various points during his interview with Sobchak, Dugin called the sport of surfing evil and said that its practitioners should be purged.
Verb
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But there is something about catching a wild fish in its native environment, and in this country, we are blessed with an abundance of places to do just that.
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God bless the United States of America.
Verb
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But that doesn’t matter because that’s been purified.
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Local residents were urged to limit their exposure by remaining indoors with their windows and doors closed and advised to run air conditioning or air purifying units, where possible.
Verb
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By visiting the Basilica and blessing the new tower, the pope follows in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI who in 2010 consecrated the Sagrada Familia.
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Leo will formally consecrate the tower on Wednesday night.
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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