SPIRITUALIZE Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

spiritualize

verb

Definition of spiritualize

as in to sanctify

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of spiritualize None of this is intended to take away from the ambivalent and sometimes plainly harmful effects of attempts to spiritualize the pandemic. — Benjamin Kirby, Quartz Africa, 1 May 2020 Thought and speech — thought’s public projection — are both combined and spiritualized. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 22 June 2019 The biblical Song of Solomon is a key scripture for the Zohar, and its lush gardens of desire are spiritualized into realms of sacred love, but without losing anything of their erotic passion. — Arthur Green, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritualize

Verb

To say that the Union was sacred and the touchstone of democracy was to strengthen slavery by sanctifying the state that protected it.

— Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026
The cruelest dimension of this is that a Christianity hijacked by the evangelical right now seeks to sanctify that mythology in the name of God.

— Otis Moss III, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026

Definition of sanctify

Verb

Their children were baptized there, received their first communion and confirmation there, and married there.

— Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 6 July 2026
According to her defense, Bland was experiencing hallucinations and believed she was being instructed to baptize her family members.

— Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of baptize

Verb

On July 2, the Vatican decreed the excommunication of the SSPX’s bishops and priests, one day after the group consecrated four new bishops in Switzerland without the pope’s consent.

— Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026
In the late 1980s, its ‌founder ⁠Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the approval of Pope John Paul II, leading those involved to be excommunicated.

— Reuters, NBC news, 5 July 2026

Definition of consecrate

Verb

Next, the raw material is handed over to Talga Group, a specialist firm that purifies the recycled feedstock into pristine, battery-grade graphite.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026
And here, the researchers simply purified the translation machinery and supplied it to the SpudCells.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026

Definition of purify

Verb

Elevate your bathing routine with this creamy shower gel that gently cleanses and nourishes your skin with a blend of acai, cupuacu butter and coconut oil.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
The star ingredients, rosemary and biotin, work together to deeply nourish and cleanse the scalp and strands, as well as stimulate growth and keratin production.

— Tessa Petak, InStyle, 4 July 2026

Definition of cleanse

Verb

Yet, these grounds were hallowed to the African American community.

— Chip Colwell, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2025
In a new political environment in which none of the new leaders could claim to be revolutionary founding fathers, Deng’s blessing hallowed Jiang and Hu and helped ensure that each survived the vicissitudes of succession politics.

— Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2025

Definition of hallow

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“Spiritualize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritualize. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of spiritualize

verb

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