enshrine
Americanverb (used with object)
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enshrines,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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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
-
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:
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
Once the slave power had been vanquished, the Reconstruction Congress sought to enshrine birthright citizenship in the Constitution so it could never be stripped away again.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
But anxieties about growing diversity and rising indifference had convinced many Americans of the need to enshrine Christianity in the Constitution.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
The union said in its letter that its labor contracts enshrine the right to a safe workplace, and that the presence of ICE or U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 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
The measure enshrines the text of the Ten Commandments found in the Protestant King James Version of the Bible.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
It enshrines an exquisite sarcophagus, which was probably once in accordance with the Emperor's wish open to the sunlight and the showers.
From The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir by Douie, James McCrone, Sir
They should go to the Smithsonian as a team and visit the display where Jackie Robinson’s jersey is enshrined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"Sovereignty is defended in international forums through diplomacy, historical truth and the peaceful, non-negotiable claim enshrined in our national constitution," the 2 April War Veterans Federation said in a statement.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
That authority is, oddly enough, not currently enshrined in statute.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Our right to play sports at school was enshrined.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
He forfeited the deposit gladly and enshrined, as well he might, the originals in the Library.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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
Real name Norman Cook, Fatboy Slim gained some recognition in the 1980s with bands The Housemartins and Beats International, before enshrining himself as a mainstay of the dance music scene during the 1990s.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
They assumed that Congress had wide discretion to restrict the removal of executive officers, enshrining that view into law through the creation of myriad independent agencies.
From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2025
Morocco's King Mohammed VI lauded the vote as "historic," saying "we are opening a new and victorious chapter in the process of enshrining the Moroccan character of the Sahara."
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
No mausoleum gratefully relieving the eye, rose amid the luxuriant foliage, enshrining the affection of the living or the memory of the dead.
From The South-West By a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 2 by Ingraham, Jonathon Holt
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.
