Calvary
noun
Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.
Calvary
American
[kal-vuh-ree]
/ ˈkæl və ri /
noun
-
Calvaries
plural
-
Bible. Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.
-
Often calvary a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion, usually erected in the open air.
-
none calvary an experience or occasion of extreme suffering, especially mental suffering.
Calvary
1
British
/ ˈkælvərɪ /
noun
calvary
2
British
/ ˈkælvərɪ /
noun
-
(often capital) a representation of Christ's crucifixion, usually sculptured and in the open air
-
any experience involving great suffering
Calvary
Cultural
Pronunciation
See irrelevant.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Calvary
First recorded before 1000; from Late Latin Calvāria “Calvary,” from Latin calvāria “a skull,” used to translate Greek kraníon cranium, itself a translation of the Aramaic name; see Golgotha
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:
Pioneer Park used to be Calvary cemetery once upon a time.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
Actor Gary Lydon who starred in films such as Calvary, The Guard and The Banshees of Inisherin, has died aged 61.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
At the Calvary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, the doors swung open and shut as locals sought refuge from the biting cold on Sunday.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026
Class was in session at Calvary Christian School.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2025
The dim Chapel of Calvary held a mournful mural of Jesus lying arms outspread and dead on the cross after it was taken down and laid on the ground.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Jessie Sheehan, on the other hand, skips the oats and calls in pecans, and a calvary of spices including ginger and nutmeg.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2022
But the calvary also isn’t coming — not yet, anyway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
His calvary - his enemies would say "deceit" - goes back to 2006.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2016
“We’re living a calvary here; we are suffering,” said Louisor Zepenge, a student.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2014
That is living—to go forward, laugh, and accept what comes—to have heart enough, gaiety enough, brains enough to seize the few rare dispensations that the niggardly gods fling across this calvary which we call life!
From The Moonlit Way by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
Dangerous passions of pride, hatred and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; truth lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless Calvaries.
From Time Magazine Archive
A district in the island of Lewis, Outer Hebrides; mentioned, 53 Calvaries.
From Legends & Romances of Brittany by Lewis Spence
They were the Calvaries of a new redemption being wrought out for men by soiled unconscious Christs.
From The Glory of the Trenches by Coningsby Dawson
But in those days you used to dance along this endless way of Calvaries, plucking flowers at the feet of the crosses.
From The Road to Damascus by Graham Rawson
We passed by the Calvaries which keep guard over the Meuse villages, a few trees gathered round the cross.
From Letters of a Soldier 1914-1915 by André Chevrillon
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