enshrine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
enshrines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enshrined,
past participle, past
-
enshrining
present participle
-
to enclose in or as in a shrine.
His love for her is enshrined forever in his poetry.
-
to cherish as sacred.
The memory of our friendship will be enshrined in my heart.
verb
-
to place or enclose in or as if in a shrine
-
to hold as sacred; cherish; treasure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enshrinesimple
-
enshrinessimple
-
have enshrinedperfect
-
has enshrinedperfect
-
am enshriningprogressive
-
are enshriningprogressive
-
is enshriningprogressive
-
have been enshriningperfect progressive
-
has been enshriningperfect progressive
Past
-
enshrinedsimple
-
had enshrinedperfect
-
was enshriningprogressive
-
were enshriningprogressive
-
had been enshriningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enshrine
Explanation
If your mother enshrines your first drawing, she might frame it and hang it in a special place, as if it were a holy relic. To enshrine is to put something special, often religious, into a protective place. A shrine is a place considered holy because something special happened there or a case that holds sacred items. Places where people have claimed to see Jesus sometimes become shrines. When you enshrine something, it means you are creating a shrine around it, or you are giving it its own protected, revered space. This can be literal or figurative. At a funeral, the minister might say that the deceased will forever be enshrined in the memories of those who loved him or her.
Vocabulary lists containing enshrine
The Crossover
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary from Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech, November 9, 2016
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Martin Scorsese on Cinema
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Athens in turn has been irritated by a Turkish plan to enshrine into domestic law claims over parts of the Aegean.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
I would enshrine gender equality in the Constitution, explicitly clarifying that the Equal Rights Amendment is part of our founding document.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Once the slave power had been vanquished, the Reconstruction Congress sought to enshrine birthright citizenship in the Constitution so it could never be stripped away again.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
Over the years, he helped various communities in some capacity to incorporate and eventually started working to enshrine the liberty cities model into law.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
Working as a lawyer in South Africa meant operating under a debased system of justice, a code of law that did not enshrine equality but its opposite.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Unions at the ILO say this by extension enshrines the right to industrial action, but employers disagree.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
In fact, Article IV of the treaty enshrines enrichment as an “inalienable right.”
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
It also enshrines separation of powers and judicial independence, and guarantees women's rights, freedom of expression and media freedom.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2025
The settlement agreement enshrines many of those provisions, but it gives the company three more years to close its wells.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2023
And redeem the land that enshrines in her heart, The graves of her glorious dead!
From Southern War Songs Camp-Fire, Patriotic and Sentimental by Various
In the not-too-distant past, the Chargers had one of the NFL’s premier tight ends in Antonio Gates, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Sovereignty is defended in international forums through diplomacy, historical truth and the peaceful, non-negotiable claim enshrined in our national constitution," the 2 April War Veterans Federation said in a statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
That authority is, oddly enough, not currently enshrined in statute.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
That understanding, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, was enshrined in the Constitution in 1868.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
A large shelf took up most of the wall, with various trophies, championship plates, and photos enshrined behind glass.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Yousef, whose community strongly promotes gender equality, said she also wants to work on "defending women's rights and enshrining them in the country's constitution".
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Pope Leo XIV on Monday warned that AI risked enshrining “an anti-human vision,” replacing jobs with dehumanizing work and consuming vast amounts of water and energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
They assumed that Congress had wide discretion to restrict the removal of executive officers, enshrining that view into law through the creation of myriad independent agencies.
From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2025
Economist Ananish Chaudhuri said the conversation about enshrining the Treaty principles in law was needed "if New Zealand is to remain a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025
As though enshrining it he placed the plastic block upon a refractory between the electrodes and threw a switch.
From The Vortex Blaster by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
