Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

graven

American  
[grey-vuhn] / ˈgreɪ vən /

verb

  1. a past participle of grave.

adjective

  1. deeply impressed; firmly fixed.

  2. carved; sculptured.

    a graven idol.
graven British  
/ ˈɡreɪvən /

verb

  1. a past participle of grave 3

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. strongly fixed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nongraven adjective
  • ungraven adjective
  • well-graven adjective

Etymology

Origin of graven

1200–50; Middle English. See grave 3, -en 3

Vocabulary lists containing graven

Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 3

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

The difference here is that Jackson’s intended audience—which, again, includes the vast majority of Americans who do not keep a graven image of Antonin Scalia in their homes—does not take assertions like this seriously anymore.

From Slate • Oct. 4, 2024

Those included condemnation of just the sort of graven imagery his son would later master for the Church of Rome and its royal cohorts in Habsburg Spain.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2021

Some passed him like he was one of the graven images carved into the columns.

From The Verge • Feb. 4, 2019

Here are some Jefferson quotes that visitors will not find on his memorial, a Roman pantheon-style temple to liberty where the Sage of Monticello's graven image keeps vigil over the Tidal Basin in Washington DC.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2017

This would make it easier to read the message that had been graven underneath the tapestry.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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.