baptism
Ecclesiastical. a ceremonial immersion in water, or application of water, as an initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church.
any similar ceremony or action of initiation, dedication, etc.
a trying or purifying experience or initiation.
Christian Science. purification of thought and character.
Origin of baptism
1Other words for baptism
Other words from baptism
- bap·tis·mal [bap-tiz-muhl], /bæpˈtɪz məl/, adjective
- bap·tis·mal·ly, adverb
- post·bap·tis·mal, adjective
- pseu·do·bap·tis·mal, adjective
- re·bap·tism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use baptism in a sentence
It is not usual, however, to bury baptismal fonts outside churches.
Bouvard and Pcuchet | Gustave FlaubertThis parliamentary baptismal name was given to itself by the Social Democratic party.
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte | Karl MarxAs he was going through the streets at Pentecost in his white baptismal robe, he was sprinkled with rancid oil by a Jew.
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6) | Heinrich GraetzThe introduction of double baptismal names produced a revolution as immediate as it was unintentional.
Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature | Charles W. BardsleyIt put a stop to what bade fair to become a universal adoption of patronymics as single baptismal names.
Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature | Charles W. Bardsley
British Dictionary definitions for baptism
/ (ˈbæpˌtɪzəm) /
a Christian religious rite consisting of immersion in or sprinkling with water as a sign that the subject is cleansed from sin and constituted as a member of the Church
the act of baptizing or of undergoing baptism
any similar experience of initiation, regeneration, or dedication
Derived forms of baptism
- baptismal, adjective
- baptismally, adverb
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
Cultural definitions for baptism
The ceremony of initiation into Christianity; in most Christian churches, it is considered a sacrament. Persons baptized either have water poured on them or are immersed in water; some groups of Christians (see also Christian) insist on immersion. The effect of baptism, in Christian belief, is to cleanse persons of their sins, so that they are born into a new life with Jesus. Most churches baptize members when they are infants, but some groups, like the Baptists, insist on adult baptism. Jesus himself was baptized. (See John the Baptist.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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