1
as in purging
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 blessing
to make holy through prayers or ritual
sanctify the bread for Communion
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Recent Examples of sanctifying
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctifying
Verb
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Here was a symbolic way of purging Hindu society of untouchability.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
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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
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.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
10 June 2026
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Thank you for entering this world safely for us and blessing us with the gift of being your parents.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Rob practiced celebrating the Mass by draping a sheet over an ironing board in the basement and consecrating Necco wafers.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctifying. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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