Jump To:

• grace
  grace

  noun

  elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
• Grace
  Grace

  noun

  William Russell, 1832–1904, U.S. financier and shipping magnate, born in Ireland: mayor of New York City 1880–88.

grace

¹ American  

[greys] / greɪs /

noun

• graces
  plural

1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.

   We watched her skate with effortless grace across the ice.

   Synonyms:

   class, refinement, charm, attractiveness

2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.

   He lacked the manly graces.

3. favor or goodwill.

   Synonyms:

   benevolence, benignity, love, kindliness, kindness

4. a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior.

   It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school.

   Synonyms:

   charity, forgiveness

   Antonyms:

   disfavor, enmity, animosity

5. mercy; clemency; pardon.

   He was saved by an act of grace from the governor.

   Synonyms:

   reprieve, leniency, lenity

6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.

7. an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against them or a penalty applied.

   The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days' grace before the policy lapses.

8. Theology.

   1. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.

   2. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

   3. a virtue or excellence of divine origin.

      the Christian graces.

   4. Also called state of grace.  the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

9. moral strength.

   the grace to perform a duty.

10. a short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given.

    Grandfather will now say grace.

11. Usually Grace a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually preceded by your, his, etc.).

12. Classical Mythology. Graces, the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.

13. Music. grace note.

---

verb (used with object)

• graces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• graced,
  past participle,  past
• gracing
  present participle

1. to lend or add grace to; adorn.

   Many fine paintings graced the rooms of the house.

   Synonyms:

   enhance, ornament, decorate, deck, beautify, embellish

   Antonyms:

   demean, desecrate, disfigure

2. to favor or honor.

   to grace an occasion with one's presence.

   Synonyms:

   exalt, elevate, glorify

   Antonyms:

   dishonor, disrespect

idioms

1. fall from grace,

   1. Theology. to relapse into sin or disfavor.

   2. to lose favor; be discredited.

      He fell from grace when the boss found out he had lied.

2. but for the grace of God, under less fortunate circumstances.

   But for the grace of God, the brick that just fell from the roof would have hit me on the head!

3. with good grace, willingly; ungrudgingly.

   She took on the extra work with good grace.

4. with bad grace, reluctantly; grudgingly: Also with a bad grace.

   He apologized, but did so with bad grace.

5. have the grace to, to be so kind as to.

   Would you have the grace to help, please?

6. by the grace of God, thankfully; fortunately.

   By the grace of God, I won't have to deal with tax returns for another year.

7. in someone's good / bad graces, regarded with favor (or disfavor) by someone.

   It is a wonder that I have managed to stay in her good graces this long.

Grace ² American  

[greys] / greɪs /

noun

1. William Russell, 1832–1904, U.S. financier and shipping magnate, born in Ireland: mayor of New York City 1880–88.

2. a female given name.

---

grace ¹ British  

/ ɡreɪs /

noun

1. elegance and beauty of movement, form, expression, or proportion

2. a pleasing or charming quality

3. goodwill or favour

4. the granting of a favour or the manifestation of goodwill, esp by a superior

5. a sense of propriety and consideration for others

6. (plural)

   1. affectation of manner (esp in the phrase airs and graces )

   2. regarded favourably and with kindness by someone

7. mercy; clemency

8. Christianity

   1. the free and unmerited favour of God shown towards man

   2. the divine assistance and power given to man in spiritual rebirth and sanctification

   3. the condition of being favoured or sanctified by God

   4. an unmerited gift, favour, etc, granted by God

9. a short prayer recited before or after a meal to invoke a blessing upon the food or give thanks for it

10. music a melodic ornament or decoration

11. See days of grace

12. unwillingly or grudgingly

13. willingly or cheerfully

---

verb

1. (tr) to add elegance and beauty to

   flowers graced the room

2. (tr) to honour or favour

   to grace a party with one's presence

3. to ornament or decorate (a melody, part, etc) with nonessential notes

Grace ² British  

/ ɡreɪs /

noun

1. a title used to address or refer to a duke, duchess, or archbishop

---

Grace ³ British  

/ ɡreɪs /

noun

1. W ( illiam ) G ( ilbert ). 1848–1915, English cricketer

---

grace More Idioms  

1. see fall from grace; in someone's bad graces; in someone's good graces; saving grace; say grace; there but for the grace of god; with good grace.

---

Pop Culture

— Amazing Grace: A hymn written by English clergyman John Newton, who participated in the slave trade before finding religion. — Grace: Jeff Buckley’s sole studio album, released in 1994, just three years before his early death.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gracelike
  adjective
• ungraced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• graces
  plural

Participles

• gracing
  present
• graced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• grace
  simple
• graces
  simple
• have graced
  perfect
• has graced
  perfect
• am gracing
  progressive
• are gracing
  progressive
• is gracing
  progressive
• have been gracing
  perfect progressive
• has been gracing
  perfect progressive

Past

• graced
  simple
• had graced
  perfect
• was gracing
  progressive
• were gracing
  progressive
• had been gracing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will grace
  simple
• will have graced
  perfect
• will be gracing
  progressive
• will have been gracing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of grace

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin grātia “favor, kindness, esteem,” derivative of grātus “pleasing”

Explanation

Grace commonly refers to a smooth and pleasing way of moving, or a polite and thoughtful way of behaving. But when someone says they were late to the airport and only made it onto their plane by the grace of God, they're talking about grace in the context of God's favor. "Social graces" are the skills needed for being polite, and if you are "in someone's good graces," they regard you with favor. In Middle English, the word grace originally meant "God's favor or help," a sense that we still use today. The related word gracious originally meant "filled with God's favor or help." Grace was borrowed from Old French, from Latin gratia, "pleasing quality, favor, thanks," from gratus, "pleasing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grace Grace graces graced gracing

Rare is the person who faces impending mortality with total grace and humility, and being in denial about it, at least some of the time, is a normal part of aging.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

Instead, in Maugham’s estimation, he was “this laborious, honest, matter-of-fact man” who painted—when at his best—“as though the grace of God had descended upon him.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“I appreciate that our fan base, compared to some others, gives a lot more grace to players,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

"I go with good grace, I go with a smile," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

But I needed time, and quiet, and a few weeks’ grace period in the States if I was to do anything of the sort.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

“We suspect automakers will gradually try to pass on costs to customers,” Grace Zwemmer, U.S. economist at Oxford, said in a research note.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before he fatally attacked Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in June 2023, was previously sectioned by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Taipei-listed Wistron is building Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell chip modules at the Texas facility, and will also make new Vera Rubin products there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

AI's ability to conjure up speedy responses to all kinds of questions "removes learning opportunities" from users, said Carnegie Mellon University doctoral student Grace Liu, the article's main author.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

“And I used to call you Grace Under Pressure.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

By the time of the June 2024 flight, Gannon had relayed advice to Tahnoon for more than six months on what it would take for the company to get in Washington’s good graces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

You felt used, and you believed he was hiding a part of himself to stay in your good graces.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

But the reverse is also true, and former antagonists can be rehabilitated, welcomed once again into the president's good graces.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

Mother Mary, then, has just reached her rock bottom, with Sam’s good graces barely cushioning her fall.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

Frigg said, “Who among you wants to win my good graces by going to Hel? Perhaps she will let Balder return to this world. Even Hel could not be so cruel as to keep him...”

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

To mark 50 years of the History of Advertising Trust, we have put together a quiz about some well-known adverts that have graced UK TV screens over the years.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Other Canadians have graced the Eurovision stage: Annie Cotton represented Switzerland in 1993 with "Moi, Tout Simplement", finishing third -- the last French-language song to finish in the top three until 2021.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

His name, too, graced the card attendees got.

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

Bridal magazines have long graced grocery aisles, but now there are publications marketing to the husband-to-be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

For the first time, a smile graced Rajar’s mournful face.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

After she found out that the star would be gracing the Super Bowl stage, she posted a video of herself trying to master his lyrics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

The clubbers still gracing the doors aren't as loose with their cash as they used to be.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025

Last week, Los Angeles witnessed history as the K-pop community came together to celebrate 30 years of SM Entertainment with some of the biggest K-pop acts gracing the stage at Dignity Health Sports Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025

Beyoncé kicked off her highly anticipated “Cowboy Carter” tour this week in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium, where she’ll be gracing the stage five times through May 9.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025

To Kaltenbrunner the fact that the great Bobby Fischer was gracing his home—for whatever reason—was equivalent to having the president of a country stop in to pay a visit.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• agility
• beauty
• decency
• decorum
• dexterity
• dignity
• ease
• elegance
• finesse
• poise
• refinement
• style