beatitude

American  

[bee-at-i-tood, -tyood] / biˈæt ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

noun

1. supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.

2. (often initial capital letter) any of the declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

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beatitude ¹ British  

/ bɪˈætɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. supreme blessedness or happiness

2. an honorific title of the Eastern Christian Church, applied to those of patriarchal rank

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Beatitude ² British  

/ bɪˈætɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. New Testament any of eight distinctive sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–11) in which he declares that the poor, the meek, those that mourn, the merciful, the peacemakers, the pure of heart, those that thirst for justice, and those that are persecuted will, in various ways, receive the blessings of heaven

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Etymology

Origin of beatitude

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin beātitūdō perfect happiness, equivalent to beāti- ( see beatific) + -tūdō -tude

Explanation

If you're extraordinarily happy, you might describe what you're feeling as beatitude. The noun beatitude refers to a state of great joy. Being blessed, or at least feeling blessed, is often linked to beatitude. Beatitude inherited its blessedness from the Latin word beatus, meaning both "happy" and "blessed." In the Bible, the Beatitudes are a series of eight blessings, such as "Blessed are those poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And in 1958 writer Jack Kerouac coined the term "The Beat Generation" because he felt its members were seeking beatitude.

Example Sentences

Religious folks have words for such spasmodic departures from the everyday, like beatitude, nirvana, ecstasy.

From Salon • Oct. 19, 2025

It also supplies a backdrop of human folly to throw the beatitude of Adam and his robot kin into sharp relief.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2019

As he understood it, enlightenment is not a state of permanent bliss and beatitude.

From Scientific American • Oct. 29, 2017

“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Art II said while reading the seventh beatitude, “for they shall be called the children of God.”

From Washington Times • Apr. 18, 2017

A smile as of celestial beatitude came over his countenance, though I knew not wherefore he was thus rejoiced.

From The Devil's Elixir Vol. II (of 2) by Hoffmann, E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus)