consecrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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consecrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
consecrated,
past participle, past
-
consecrating
present participle
-
to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity.
to consecrate a new church building.
- Antonyms:
- desecrate
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to make (something) an object of honor or veneration; hallow.
a custom consecrated by time.
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to devote or dedicate to some purpose.
a life consecrated to science.
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to admit or ordain to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate.
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to change (bread and wine) into the Eucharist.
adjective
verb
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to make or declare sacred or holy; sanctify
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to dedicate (one's life, time, etc) to a specific purpose
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to ordain (a bishop)
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Christianity to sanctify (bread and wine) for the Eucharist to be received as the body and blood of Christ
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to cause to be respected or revered; venerate
time has consecrated this custom
adjective
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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consecraternoun
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consecrationnoun
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consecratornoun
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deconsecrateverb (used with object)
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preconsecrateverb (used with object)
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reconsecrateverb (used with object)
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consecrativeadjective
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consecratoryadjective
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unconsecrativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
consecratesimple
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consecratessimple
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have consecratedperfect
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has consecratedperfect
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am consecratingprogressive
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are consecratingprogressive
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is consecratingprogressive
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have been consecratingperfect progressive
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has been consecratingperfect progressive
Past
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consecratedsimple
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had consecratedperfect
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was consecratingprogressive
-
were consecratingprogressive
-
had been consecratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consecrate
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English consecraten, from Latin consecrātus (past participle of consecrāre ), equivalent to con- + -secr- (variant, in noninitial syllables, of sacer “consecrated, holy”) + -ātus, past participle suffix; see origin at con-, sacred, -ate 1
Explanation
Consecrate means to make holy or to dedicate to a higher purpose. You need to consecrate a building to turn it into a church, but you can also consecrate a week in New York City to the pursuit of the perfect bagel. The secr part of consecrate comes from the Latin sacer "sacred." Remember that something consecrated is dedicated to God and thus sacred. And then remember that the meanings of words tend to stretch; over time this one moved from "dedicated to God" to "dedicated to whatever": jelly donuts, the perfect tan, finding a solution to Rubik's Cube.
Vocabulary lists containing consecrate
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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:
She was buried on an island in the Spencers' Althorp estate, rather than a graveyard - and the book describes how a bishop was brought to consecrate the ground to make it possible.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Capote perfectly captures the sacramental quality of the holiday—how, through the exhaustive labor of polishing and scrubbing, we consecrate the routine rooms of daily existence into a sanctuary for celebration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Cascading from the table’s edge is a manumission document releasing a family named Moore from chattel slavery as burning incense and a nearby plate of water quietly consecrate the sober scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2022
“It’s designed to celebrate and consecrate the transition of power, and that’s why it matters whether the president, and the soon-to-be former president, attends.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2021
At church he has the power to forgive sins and consecrate the host.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
An America that euphemizes this grievance as a matter of “race relations,” and in the process consecrates race as a natural category, is an America that still isn’t confronting its reality.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2016
In her exaltation of women, she purifies and consecrates their desires.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 30, 2015
Male domination in the leadership of the Church of England is coming to an end, as the 500-year-old institution consecrates its first female bishop.
From Time ● Jan. 26, 2015
In its most traditional form, the priest consecrates the bread and wine in a whisper with his back to the congregation: anathema to those who think openness is the spirit of the age.
From Economist ● Dec. 13, 2012
He that consecrates, therefore, and they that are consecrated are united together, first, by being born of the same Divine Father, and, second, by having the same human nature.
From The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews by Thomas Charles Edwards
On Wednesday, however, the group went ahead and consecrated the four bishops in a Mass in Switzerland before thousands of followers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
As in 1988, the society's future bishops will be consecrated without assigned jurisdiction from Rome, in a situation the group claims precludes any schism or excommunication -- though the Vatican views the matter differently.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Presiding over the service was Cardinal Robert Prevost, who is now Pope Leo XIV and whose devotion to Guadalupe is such that he was consecrated as a bishop 11 years ago this Dec. 12.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
When Bishop Dyer was consecrated in March 2018, Jen Bressers was in her final year of training to be a priest.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
These were foundations more in line with the literal meaning of the word museum—that is, places consecrated to the worship of the Muses.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
The Vatican declared a formal schism with the Society of St. Pius X, excommunicating its bishops and priests for consecrating four bishops without papal consent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Decades after triggering a rift with the Vatican by consecrating bishops in 1988, the Society of Saint Pius X is doing it again on Wednesday in defiance of Pope Leo XIV.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Later that evening, Rocky himself made an appearance, effectively consecrating his own corner of the fair and Design.Space as a whole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
In circles that emphasize biblical patriarchy, often rooted in the Calvinist or Reformed wing of Christianity, some have suggested that civil government should have no role in consecrating marriage.
From Salon ● May 26, 2024
After dinner we all went to the front room where the priest took a small book from his jacket to recite some prayers, consecrating our house and our family.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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