sanctify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
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to purify or free from sin.
Sanctify your hearts.
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to impart religious sanction to; render legitimate or binding.
to sanctify a vow.
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to entitle to reverence or respect.
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to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing.
verb
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to make holy
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to free from sin; purify
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to sanction (an action or practice) as religiously binding
to sanctify a marriage
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to declare or render (something) productive of or conductive to holiness, blessing, or grace
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obsolete to authorize to be revered
Other Word Forms
- nonsanctification noun
- presanctify verb (used with object)
- sanctifiable adjective
- sanctifiableness noun
- sanctifiably adverb
- sanctification noun
- sanctifier noun
- sanctifyingly adverb
- self-sanctification noun
- unsanctifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of sanctify
1350–1400; < Late Latin sānctificāre ( Sanctus, -ify ); replacing Middle English seintefien < Old French saintifier < Latin, as above
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.
He said he was "glad that Israel will participate again in Eurovision and I hope that the competition will remain one that sanctifies culture, poetry, and friendship between peoples and cross-border cultural understanding".
From BBC
The sculptures lovingly sanctify a keystone’s rational but enigmatic contradiction of mechanics and function.
From Los Angeles Times
Here, the real Presley is charismatic as hell, and looks great beaded in sanctified sweat.
From Los Angeles Times
These shrines laden with incense, flowers and other offerings sanctify its gardens, waters and the surrounding landscape, and they highlight the psychic malaise dominating most of its visitors.
From Salon
Not Section 60, where the atmosphere is sanctified but not somber—too many kids, Meredith recalled from her visits to her son’s burial site.
From Salon
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.
