transubstantiation
the changing of one substance into another.
Theology. the changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when they are consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ (a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church).
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Origin of transubstantiation
1- Compare transignification.
Words that may be confused with transubstantiation
- consubstantiation, transubstantiation
Words Nearby transubstantiation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use transubstantiation in a sentence
There is no such thing as annihilation; death is surely transubstantiation.
The Wings of Icarus | Laurence Alma TademaThe word transubstantiation was not known until after this council.
Is it not a miracle,” interrupted the philosopher, laughing, “more real than thy fancied transubstantiation?
Heroines of the Crusades | C. A. BlossYet their name remained, and was long used in Bohemia as a term of the bitterest contempt for those who denied transubstantiation.
A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II | Henry Charles Lea"Koukou denies transubstantiation," the pastor continued, sadly emptying his glass.
Atlantida | Pierre Benoit
British Dictionary definitions for transubstantiation
/ (ˌtrænsəbˌstænʃɪˈeɪʃən) /
(esp in Roman Catholic theology)
the doctrine that the whole substance of the bread and wine changes into the substance of the body and blood of Christ when consecrated in the Eucharist
the mystical process by which this is believed to take place during consecration: Compare consubstantiation
a substantial change; transmutation
Derived forms of transubstantiation
- transubstantiationalist, noun
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
Cultural definitions for transubstantiation
According to the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the presence of Jesus in the sacrament of Communion. Through transubstantiation, the bread and wine consumed by worshipers become the body and blood of Jesus when a priest, acting on Jesus' behalf, speaks the words “This is my body” and “This is my blood” over them.
Notes for transubstantiation
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse