Immaculate Conception

noun

1
: the conception of the Virgin Mary in which as decreed in Roman Catholic dogma her soul was preserved free from original sin by divine grace
2
: December 8 observed as a Roman Catholic feast in commemoration of the Immaculate Conception

Examples of Immaculate Conception in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Hours after Leo made his first formal greeting as the new pope, a crowd of faithful Catholics filled the pews at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 10 May 2025 The Immaculate Conception, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, is the teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was herself preserved from original sin, a stain inherited from Adam that Catholics believe all other human beings are born with, from the moment of her conception. Dennis Doyle, The Conversation, 8 May 2025 In the Gospels and Paul’s Letters, there is no evidence of Mary’s Immaculate Conception (the belief that Mary, too, was born under miraculous circumstances, was dreamed up in the second-century apocryphal Gospel of James, the author claiming to be Christ’s brother). Lamorna Ash, The Dial, 6 May 2025 Born in Chicago, Murphy grew up in Elmhurst and attended Immaculate Conception elementary school. Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Immaculate Conception

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Immaculate Conception was in 1597

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Cite this Entry

“Immaculate Conception.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Immaculate%20Conception. Accessed 17 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

Immaculate Conception

noun
: December 8 observed as a Roman Catholic festival in honor of the conception of the Virgin Mary as free from original sin

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