deliverance
Americannoun
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an act or instance of delivering.
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a thought or judgment expressed; a formal or authoritative pronouncement.
noun
Other Word Forms
- nondeliverance noun
Etymology
Origin of deliverance
1250–1300; Middle English deliveraunce < Old French delivrance, equivalent to delivr ( er ) to deliver + -ance -ance
Explanation
If you’re seeking deliverance, you want to be set free or removed from a bad situation. If you're taken hostage in a bank heist, you might pray for deliverance. You probably notice that deliver makes up a big chunk of deliverance. One meaning of deliver is “to set free” — and that’s what deliverance is: the act of setting someone free. Deliverance often has religious connotations, but the word can be used for other kinds of rescue or liberation. You might want deliverance from the hardship of working on your uncle’s farm all summer, or at least deliverance from the smell of manure.
Vocabulary lists containing deliverance
The Giver
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India" Speech
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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.
Mr. Dreisbach notes the powerful importance of the Exodus story of providential liberation and deliverance as the model for Americans’ rebellion against Britain’s pharaonic royalty.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
Some in cardinal and gold waited for deliverance, as if it was assured.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025
Dr Bray said most deliverance ministers carry a bag, the contents of which he said people were "always intrigued by".
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2024
Twenty Amazon boxes deposited in my daughter's dorm room and left scattered on the twin XL bed, my final deliverance.
From Salon • Aug. 31, 2024
John’s feet began to slip; tears and sweat were in his eyes; still moving backward before his father, he looked about him for deliverance; but there was no deliverance in this street for him.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
