Showing Results for "consecrated"

See Also:

• past tense form of consecrate.
• past participle of consecrate.

consecrated

American  

[kon-si-krey-tid] / ˈkɒn sɪˌkreɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. sacred or set apart; dedicated to the service or worship of a deity or for a spiritual or religious purpose.

   Holding the vessel of consecrated water, the swami poured it out over the newly built shrine.

2. (of bread, wine, or both elements) changed into the Eucharist.

   During the Mass, the priest offers to God the consecrated bread and wine in re-enactment of the self-offering of Jesus Christ.

3. venerated or highly honored; established as inviolable.

   It is never easy to convert formal legislative initiatives into a dominant vision and culturally consecrated practice.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of consecrate.

Usage

What does consecrated mean? Consecrated describes something that is considered sacred. Something consecrated is dedicated to the service or worship of a deity or for spiritual or religious purposes. Something usually becomes consecrated through a ritual or ceremony in which a religious leader blesses it or imposes some type of belief onto it. In many faiths, consecrated items are revered for their ability to bless, bring good fortune, and be used as a tool for praying. In many Christian faiths, consecrated specifically describes the bread and wine that, according to the faith, have been changed into the Eucharist. While consecrated is most commonly used in these religious senses, it is sometimes used figuratively to describe something that is not religious but still highly honored or revered, such as a consecrated study in a subject, such as mathematics or science. Example: The mosque down the road was consecrated just in time for their Nikah ceremony.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superconsecrated
  adjective
• consecratedness
  noun
• unconsecrated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of consecrated

consecrate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

When something is consecrated it is declared to be sacred or holy. Many Catholics, for example, believe that bread and wine are consecrated, or made sacred during Holy Communion, becoming the body and blood of Christ. The word consecrated is made up of the Latin suffix con-, which expresses intensive force and sacrare, meaning "dedicate." Something that is consecrated is intensely dedicated to the point of being declared holy. It's not just bread and wine that people believe to be consecrated. You might call a cemetery "consecrated ground."

Example Sentences

Pope Francis celebrates a mass to mark the World Day for Consecrated Life in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, February 2, 2022.

From Reuters • Feb. 6, 2022

Consecrated in 1950, the building became known as Madonna of the Ruins, after a sculpture of Mary and Jesus that had survived the bombing.

From Washington Post • Jun. 11, 2021

Attacks on American nuns have been happening since 2008, when the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life initiated an “Apostolic Visitation,” a euphemism for investigation, of the nuns.

From Time • Aug. 31, 2014

Consecrated bread, in the form of wheaten disks or hosts, was potent stuff.

From New York Times • Jul. 4, 2013

Consecrated means to dedicate somebody or something to a particular purpose.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater