enshrine
Americanverb (used with object)
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enshrines,
present (3rd person singular)
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enshrined,
past participle, past
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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
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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
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has enshrinedperfect
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am enshriningprogressive
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are enshriningprogressive
-
is enshriningprogressive
-
have been enshriningperfect progressive
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has been enshriningperfect progressive
Past
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enshrinedsimple
-
had enshrinedperfect
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was enshriningprogressive
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were enshriningprogressive
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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
In response, Hyundai’s union has made unprecedented demands seeking to enshrine job protections in the era of robots and AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Giving Americans access to high-quality, low-cost cars would enshrine him as a champion for struggling American households.
From Barron's ● May 14, 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
It also enshrines separation of powers and judicial independence, and guarantees women's rights, freedom of expression and media freedom.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 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
The 14th Amendment permanently enshrines in the Constitution the privileges and protections of democracy.
From Slate ● Jan. 10, 2024
Altar of incense postponed, 376.—The ark enshrines His law and its sanctions, 376–7.—The mercy-seat covers it, 377–80.—Man’s homage.
From The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus by G. A. Chadwick
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
Officials determined that for true independence, the commission and the compliance office must be permanently enshrined in the county charter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 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
We all grasp what it means to be an American and how that is enshrined in the Constitution.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
The date of it, however, was enshrined in memory, and dubbed “Foul Friday.”
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Tegmark, whose appeal to the pope preceded Leo XIV’s warning that AI risked enshrining an “anti-human vision,” said he has been texting with AI company leaders over the past week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
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
Economist Ananish Chaudhuri said the conversation about enshrining the Treaty principles in law was needed "if New Zealand is to remain a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025
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
Three years had scarcely passed since His baptism when the gathering storm outbroke, and the human body of Jesus paid the penalty for enshrining the glorious Presence of a Teacher more than man.
From Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries by Annie Wood Besant
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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.
