devote
Americanverb (used with object)
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devotes,
present (3rd person singular)
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devoted,
past participle, past
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devoting
present participle
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to give up or appropriate to or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc..
to devote one's time to reading.
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to appropriate by or as if by a vow; set apart or dedicate by a solemn or formal act; consecrate.
She devoted her life to God.
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to commit to evil or destruction; doom.
verb
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to apply or dedicate (oneself, time, money, etc) to some pursuit, cause, etc
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obsolete to curse or doom
Synonym Usage
Devote, dedicate, consecrate share the sense of assigning or applying someone or something to an activity, function, or end. Devote, though it has some overtones of religious dedication, is the most general of the three terms: He devoted his free time to mastering the computer. Dedicate is more solemn and carries an ethical or moral tone: We are dedicated to the achievement of equality for all. Consecrate, even in nonreligious contexts, clearly implies a powerful and sacred dedication: consecrated to the service of humanity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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devotesimple
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devotessimple
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have devotedperfect
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has devotedperfect
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am devotingprogressive
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are devotingprogressive
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is devotingprogressive
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have been devotingperfect progressive
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has been devotingperfect progressive
Past
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devotedsimple
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had devotedperfect
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was devotingprogressive
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were devotingprogressive
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had been devotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of devote
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin dēvōtus “vowed,” past participle of dēvovēre “to vow,” from dē- de- + vovēre “to vow” ( see vow)
Explanation
Devote means to give to. If you devote yourself to jump-roping, you might be found in your driveway every free moment of the day practicing. Nuns and priests are said to devote their lives to God. A knight in shining armor devotes himself to his lady. If you devote as much energy to your school work as you do to your hair, your grades should improve. If our country devoted to education even half of the resources we pour into defense, we could eliminate poverty.
Vocabulary lists containing devote
Early Civilizations of India, Lessons 1–4
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Schooled
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Chapter 2: Exploring the Americas
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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:
And unbeaten JSerra certainly pulled off the feat by getting three-sport standout Kai Beary to devote time to flag football.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
As the economy became increasingly unstable and demanded that moviegoers and television aficionados devote more time to their jobs, the average viewer naturally had less bandwidth for their cultural hobbies.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
As the ultra-Orthodox community becomes bigger, so has the debate around the expense of supporting them with stipends so they can devote themselves to full-time religious study.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
“Scammers recognize this and devote a lot of time to develop the trust needed to exploit the victim.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
In order to feed himself, he had to devote a large part of each day to stalking animals.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Anthropic's roughly 400-page filing devotes more than 90 pages to risks, including those facing an industry that has seen a string of reports in recent months of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Veering away from politics, the Daily Star devotes its front page to a story that leads with "Jamie Carragher has apologised for 'clumsy language' after the owners threatened legal action".
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Mr. Daniels devotes the longest section of “Impatience Is a Virtue” to his election as governor of Indiana in 2004 and his two terms in that office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Strangely, Patterson, an Emmy-nominated TV writer, devotes more attention to the plot than to the play’s psychology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Evans’s is a talent so exceptional that Oliver Sacks, in An Anthropologist on Mars, devotes a passage to him in a chapter on autistic savants–quickly adding that "there is no suggestion that he is autistic."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
We also are charmed by Monet’s seductive palette and his lifelong pursuit of particular moments that appear to be spontaneously captured by an artist more devoted to nature than to fame and fortune.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Their family described them as "devoted parents" and said their children were "the light of their lives".
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Don Orione is another Italian priest, canonized in 2004, who devoted his life to assisting others.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
It is the first center in the world devoted specifically to investigating how focused ultrasound can be combined with cancer immunotherapy.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
Instead, he devoted his summer to Lisa-Marie Anne.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
“Bob left a lasting mark on baseball by devoting over five decades to the game. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
After devoting years to the problem, Schlamminger says he is ready to hand the challenge to others.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Mr. Gupta advises devoting the first year to an athletic activity, to fortify one’s physical foundation, and the second to a creative one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Celebrities are voting for the Greek summer!" public broadcaster ERT said on Friday, devoting a report to these stars from across the Atlantic.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
She became a law clerk, a teacher, and the superintendent of schools in Mason City, Iowa, before devoting her career to suffrage.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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