dedication

[ ded-i-key-shuhn ]
See synonyms for dedication on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of dedicating.

  2. the state of being dedicated: Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.

  1. a formal, printed inscription in a book, piece of music, etc., dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like.

  2. a personal, handwritten inscription in or on a work, as by an author to a friend.

  3. a ceremony marking the official completion or opening of a public building, institution, monument, etc.

Origin of dedication

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dedicacioun, from Latin dēdicātiōn-, stem of dēdicātiō, literally, “a declaring,” equivalent to dēdicāt(us) “declared, devoted” (past participle of dēdicāre; see dedicate) + -iō -ion

Other words from dedication

  • ded·i·ca·tion·al, adjective
  • non·ded·i·ca·tion, noun
  • o·ver·ded·i·ca·tion, noun
  • pre·ded·i·ca·tion, noun
  • re·ded·i·ca·tion, noun
  • self-ded·i·ca·tion, noun

Words Nearby dedication

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dedication in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dedication

dedication

/ (ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated

  2. an inscription or announcement prefixed to a book, piece of music, etc, dedicating it to a person or thing

  1. complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc

  2. a ceremony in which something, such as a church, is dedicated

Derived forms of dedication

  • dedicational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012