lustrate

American

[luhs-treyt] / ˈlʌs treɪt /

verb (used with object)

lustrated, lustrating

to purify by a propitiatory offering or other ceremonial method.

lustrate British

/ ˈlʌstrətɪv, ˈlʌstreɪt /

verb

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

"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

lustration noun
lustrative adjective

Etymology

Origin of lustrate

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

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.

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

From Scientific American • Aug. 1, 2023

I wish to lustrate them afresh for the service of the gods.

From Hypatia — or New Foes with an Old Face by Kingsley, Charles

With the first And finest breath, which from the genial strife Of mineral fermentation springs, like light O'er the fresh morning's vapours, lustrate then The fountain, and inform the rising wave.

From Poetical Works of Akenside by Gilfillan, George

The Athenians 117 being afflicted with pestilence invited Epimenides to lustrate their city.

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023