enshrine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to enclose in or as in a shrine.
His love for her is enshrined forever in his poetry.
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to cherish as sacred.
The memory of our friendship will be enshrined in my heart.
verb
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to place or enclose in or as if in a shrine
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to hold as sacred; cherish; treasure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enshrinesimple
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enshrinessimple
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have enshrinedperfect
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has enshrinedperfect
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am enshriningprogressive
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are enshriningprogressive
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is enshriningprogressive
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have been enshriningperfect progressive
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has been enshriningperfect progressive
Past
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enshrinedsimple
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had enshrinedperfect
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was enshriningprogressive
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were enshriningprogressive
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had been enshriningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enshrine
Explanation
If your mother enshrines your first drawing, she might frame it and hang it in a special place, as if it were a holy relic. To enshrine is to put something special, often religious, into a protective place. A shrine is a place considered holy because something special happened there or a case that holds sacred items. Places where people have claimed to see Jesus sometimes become shrines. When you enshrine something, it means you are creating a shrine around it, or you are giving it its own protected, revered space. This can be literal or figurative. At a funeral, the minister might say that the deceased will forever be enshrined in the memories of those who loved him or her.
Vocabulary lists containing enshrine
The Crossover
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Vocabulary from Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech, November 9, 2016
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Martin Scorsese on Cinema
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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.
I would enshrine gender equality in the Constitution, explicitly clarifying that the Equal Rights Amendment is part of our founding document.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
The state’s true goal, he asserted, is to enshrine “local attitudes” and “a Hawaiian tradition” that “disfavor the carrying of guns” in public to prevent violence.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026
Over the years, he helped various communities in some capacity to incorporate and eventually started working to enshrine the liberty cities model into law.
From Salon • May 3, 2026
Those were investigative grand jury hearings, meaning prosecutors could use them to enshrine testimony against Burke, but could not use the proceedings to secure an indictment against Burke.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Working as a lawyer in South Africa meant operating under a debased system of justice, a code of law that did not enshrine equality but its opposite.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
