lustrate

[luhs-treyt]

verb (used with object)

lustrated, lustrating 

1. to purify by a propitiatory offering or other ceremonial method.

lustrate

/ ˈlʌstrətɪv, ˈlʌstreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to purify by means of religious rituals or ceremonies

Other Word Forms

• lustration noun
• lustrative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lustrate¹

1615–25; < Latin lūstrātus, past participle of lūstrāre to purify, illumine. See luster ¹, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lustrate¹

C17: from Latin lūstrāre to brighten

Example Sentences

But universities, especially but not exclusively private schools, such as Stanford, have few incentives to lustrate.

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“By them lustrated, and the potent song “Nine times repeated, earthly taints to cleanse, “They bade me 'neath an hundred gushing streams “To place my bosom.

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There was a man from the Great Kanawha to Williamsport 't other day—a storekeeper—a big, fat man with a beard like Abraham's in the 'lustrated Bible.

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The fire-fountain was lustrated with the waters of the Ganges;2 expiatory rites were performed, and after a protracted debate among the gods it was resolved that Indra should initiate the work of recreation.

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An interesting feature of this ceremony is that the center of the floor, the place intended for the doorway, and one or more of the posts, are lustrated with the blood of the victim.

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Related Words

• rarefy