enshrine
Americanverb (used with object)
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enshrines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enshrined,
past participle, past
-
enshrining
present participle
-
to enclose in or as in a shrine.
His love for her is enshrined forever in his poetry.
-
to cherish as sacred.
The memory of our friendship will be enshrined in my heart.
verb
-
to place or enclose in or as if in a shrine
-
to hold as sacred; cherish; treasure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enshrinesimple
-
enshrinessimple
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have enshrinedperfect
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has enshrinedperfect
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am enshriningprogressive
-
are enshriningprogressive
-
is enshriningprogressive
-
have been enshriningperfect progressive
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has been enshriningperfect progressive
Past
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enshrinedsimple
-
had enshrinedperfect
-
was enshriningprogressive
-
were enshriningprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
She said if Stormont is serious about Bengoa's report and improving the health care system they "must enshrine this absolute right in law" for patients to designate an essential family carer.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Athens in turn has been irritated by a Turkish plan to enshrine into domestic law claims over parts of the Aegean.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
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
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
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
Unions at the ILO say this by extension enshrines the right to industrial action, but employers disagree.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
In fact, Article IV of the treaty enshrines enrichment as an “inalienable right.”
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
It enshrines the commitment to uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life, and details "the overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025
Using a style of elegant lyricism, which enshrines tiny moments into glisteningly miraculous turning points, Erice lets the exchanges between the people he’s conceived play out without the need to advance the plot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2024
Charles was recommended to the coat, and I think the mist of soap and warm water that enshrines Brummell as the Apostle of Cleanliness blurs also the mirror of truth.
From English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop
The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the move over a practice it said conlifted with "human dignity, fairness, and the values enshrined in our Constitution."
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
Cubans have traditionally enjoyed favoured immigration status in the United States under provisions enshrined in 1960s-era legislation called the Cuban Adjustment Act.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The Measure G governance reform task force is setting everything up, but officials realized that for true independence, the seven-member commission and the compliance office must be permanently enshrined in the county charter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
We all grasp what it means to be an American and how that is enshrined in the Constitution.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
“And what are the five categories of protections enshrined in the laws? Five categories of protections? Enshrined in Islamic laws? Islamic laws?”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Yousef, whose community strongly promotes gender equality, said she also wants to work on "defending women's rights and enshrining them in the country's constitution".
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Pope Leo XIV on Monday warned that AI risked enshrining “an anti-human vision,” replacing jobs with dehumanizing work and consuming vast amounts of water and energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
In the aftermath of the crime, newly minted fans of Mangione quickly fitted the man with revolutionary trappings, enshrining him as an avenger of working-class power.
From Slate ● May 1, 2026
On a national level, enshrining community as a civic value and way of life must serve as a local bulwark against natural disaster and larger political forces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
He was; but, in compensation for being born a poet, he possessed the latter's faculty for enshrining a reality in a sentiment.
From The Passionate Elopement by Compton MacKenzie
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
