noun
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the act of conferring holy orders
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the reception of holy orders
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the condition of being ordained or regulated
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an arrangement or order
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ordination
1350–1400; Middle English ordinacioun < Late Latin ōrdinātiō ordainment, Latin: a putting in order, appointment, equivalent to ōrdinā(re) to order, arrange (derivative of ōrdō, stem ōrdin-, order) + -tiō -tion
Explanation
What an inauguration is to a president, an ordination is to a religious authority. It's the ceremony of bestowing a person with a position of religious authority — as when someone becomes a priest, minister, or shaman. The noun ordination comes from the Latin word ordinare, meaning “put in order.” Becoming a religious leader usually requires training in a seminary followed by an ordination. On the other hand, the ordination of a monarch is a ceremony in which a King’s or Queen’s divine right to rule the country, which was historically considered a birth right, is asserted and initiated without any seminary courses required.
Vocabulary lists containing ordination
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
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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.
Mr. Leiter, who earned orthodox rabbinical ordination, breaks into a homily connecting his son Moshe to the biblical original, Moses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
The ordination certificate is proof of someone's acceptance into the monastic community.
From BBC • Jul. 28, 2025
Not long after his ordination, he was named the Jesuit provincial for Argentina, which put him in charge of the order’s activities throughout the country.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2025
They said African churches will keep the marriage and ordination bans in their region while remaining in the denomination.
From Seattle Times • May 5, 2024
So did his teachers at the seminary, who deemed him too playful and impatient with pomp and procedure; they delayed his ordination.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
