consecrate

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb consecrate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of consecrate are dedicate, devote, and hallow. While all these words mean "to set apart for a special and often higher end," consecrate stresses investment with a solemn or sacred quality.

consecrate a church to the worship of God

When can dedicate be used instead of consecrate?

While the synonyms dedicate and consecrate are close in meaning, dedicate implies solemn and exclusive devotion to a sacred or serious use or purpose.

dedicated her life to medical research

When would devote be a good substitute for consecrate?

The meanings of devote and consecrate largely overlap; however, devote is likely to imply compelling motives and often attachment to an objective.

devoted his evenings to study

When is it sensible to use hallow instead of consecrate?

In some situations, the words hallow and consecrate are roughly equivalent. However, hallow, often differing little from dedicate or consecrate, may distinctively imply an attribution of intrinsic sanctity.

battlegrounds hallowed by the blood of patriots

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of consecrate
Adjective
Lana Del Rey doesn’t toy with signs—of American glamour and its decay, of female melancholia and racial desire—so much as consecrate them. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2023
Verb
Griswold—whose father, once the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, consecrated the denomination’s first openly gay bishop—treats the pastors generously, though gingerly, constructing from their lowest moments an affecting study of sacred life in sacrilegious times. Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024 Plus, makeover scenes always have the best soundtracks in movies, consecrating them into our impressionable little hearts and minds. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for consecrate 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for consecrate
Adjective
  • On social media, the holy grail of Frye boot finds are the pairs that have been passed down over generations.
    Sam Reed, Glamour, 31 Oct. 2024
  • In Hollywood's relentless pursuit of reliable box office returns, pre-existing intellectual property has become the holy grail.
    Damion Taylor, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The new data center was supposed to have been dedicated toward Meta’s new and ongoing artificial intelligence projects.
    Paolo Confino, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Fiscal 2024 just ended with the government running a budget deficit in excess of $1.8 trillion, including more than $1.1 trillion dedicated solely to paying financing costs on the $36 trillion U.S. debt.
    Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Pope Francis seemed to inadvertently bless the New Orleans Saints — which couldn't come at a better time, as the NFL team just excommunicated their head coach.
    Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Fund issuers will need the SEC to bless new types of constructions in order to get a private credit fund approved.
    Jesse Pound, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Torii gates are iconic structures that mark the boundary between the everyday and the sacred at Shinto shrines across Japan.
    Arata Yamamoto, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Russia has also breached a sacred tenet of nuclear security by launching attacks against Ukraine from military bases that store nuclear warheads, thus making those bases a legitimate target for counteroffensives.
    William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • After spending the rest of 2017 touring the world behind Joanne (including a headlining slot at Coachella, swooping in to replace a pregnant Beyoncé atop the bill), Gaga devoted 2018 to her first Hollywood starring role, in Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star is Born.
    Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Featuring the longtime band lineup of singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith, Iron Maiden devoted their two-hour set consisting mostly of music from the 2021 record Senjutsu and the 1986 album Somewhere in Time.
    David Chiu, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • As eye-catching as the 2025 slate of films from consecrated Catalan filmmakers is, the number of titles that will come from first-time feature directors is equally impressive.
    Jamie Lang, Variety, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Almost 200,000 people flooded into Soldier Field each day (despite rain and hail the last day) and venerated the consecrated bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist — a triumphant celebration of Catholicism’s central sacrament.
    Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2024
Verb
  • Adding poignancy, the narrative is interspersed with obituaries of some of the patients Shelly could not save, showing them as human beings and not just names on a medical chart.
    Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 10 Nov. 2024
  • Projects save automatically, and even after downloading multiple projects, the total install size remained around 4GB, a fraction of the 512GB microSD in my Switch.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near consecrate

Cite this Entry

“Consecrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/consecrate. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on consecrate

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