as in offerings
something offered to a god
the herders selected their best lamb as a sacrifice in order to receive blessings from their god
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in offers
to give up as an offering to a god
according to the Old Testament, Abraham was willing to sacrifice even his son to God
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example 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 sacrifices
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Winocour hopes the film will give audiences a glimpse of the shadow workers whose hard work and sacrifices power the luxury industry.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2025
Robbie tries to be appreciative of the young matriarch’s sacrifices.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Kids are used to pass drugs and for sacrifices in the Tlingit Indian culture.
—Bjorn Dihle, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025
The spectacle of the Long Walk is even sadder as a stand-in for capitalist expectations, its conscripts literally marching themselves to death as sacrifices to fading American exceptionalism.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Paddling on the waters that sustain their lands reminds them of the sacrifices their families endured to preserve their fishing and hunting rights, their ongoing struggle to restore a watershed the size of West Virginia, the fight to bring fire and salmon back to the lands and waters.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
American’s work builds on this legacy, but instead of imagining outer space, the artist zooms in on the very conditions that made Butler’s voice possible, which were the everyday sacrifices of her mother and grandmother.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 2 Sep. 2025
Motivated buyers are already making sacrifices, either by saving aggressively or relocating to more affordable areas.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Enid is all set to stay chill and human come full-moon night, but when Isaac tries to kill Wednesday by burying her alive, Enid sacrifices herself by transforming into her werewolf self and becoming strong enough to dig Wednesday out of the grave.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
In the end, several of the survivors die, and Hulk sacrifices himself to stop a super-powerful Wanda zombie who has magic powers, thanks to the Mind Stone.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
He's stopped, however, by Nate's best pal Luke (Kevin Bigley), who sacrifices himself to help stop B-HBSG from escaping.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Just days before, HBO Max released the episode in which Smart’s character, Deborah Vance, sacrifices her lifelong dream of finally becoming the first woman to host a late night show rather than give in to corporate bullying and fire Ava for leaking an unflattering story about the network.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Julia, who studied music and theater at Harvard, is currently developing a musical based on the Korean folktale of Simcheong, a filial daughter who sacrifices herself for her blind father.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Ending federal support now sacrifices the very speed and flexibility that saved lives.
—Sonam Sheth, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025
Katie Holmes rarely sacrifices function for fashion.
—Clara McMahon, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
Researchers looked at whether sacrifices are made to move toward something positive like love and connection or to move away from something negative like conflict or guilt.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Winocour hopes the film will give audiences a glimpse of the shadow workers whose hard work and sacrifices power the luxury industry.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2025
Robbie tries to be appreciative of the young matriarch’s sacrifices.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Kids are used to pass drugs and for sacrifices in the Tlingit Indian culture.
—Bjorn Dihle, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025
The spectacle of the Long Walk is even sadder as a stand-in for capitalist expectations, its conscripts literally marching themselves to death as sacrifices to fading American exceptionalism.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Paddling on the waters that sustain their lands reminds them of the sacrifices their families endured to preserve their fishing and hunting rights, their ongoing struggle to restore a watershed the size of West Virginia, the fight to bring fire and salmon back to the lands and waters.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
American’s work builds on this legacy, but instead of imagining outer space, the artist zooms in on the very conditions that made Butler’s voice possible, which were the everyday sacrifices of her mother and grandmother.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 2 Sep. 2025
Motivated buyers are already making sacrifices, either by saving aggressively or relocating to more affordable areas.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
The Occultist sacrifices people to an unnamed demon.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Enid is all set to stay chill and human come full-moon night, but when Isaac tries to kill Wednesday by burying her alive, Enid sacrifices herself by transforming into her werewolf self and becoming strong enough to dig Wednesday out of the grave.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
In the end, several of the survivors die, and Hulk sacrifices himself to stop a super-powerful Wanda zombie who has magic powers, thanks to the Mind Stone.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
He's stopped, however, by Nate's best pal Luke (Kevin Bigley), who sacrifices himself to help stop B-HBSG from escaping.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Just days before, HBO Max released the episode in which Smart’s character, Deborah Vance, sacrifices her lifelong dream of finally becoming the first woman to host a late night show rather than give in to corporate bullying and fire Ava for leaking an unflattering story about the network.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Julia, who studied music and theater at Harvard, is currently developing a musical based on the Korean folktale of Simcheong, a filial daughter who sacrifices herself for her blind father.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Ending federal support now sacrifices the very speed and flexibility that saved lives.
—Sonam Sheth, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025
Katie Holmes rarely sacrifices function for fashion.
—Clara McMahon, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrifices
Noun
-
Stephen Dacus, the new chief executive of parent company Seven & I Holdings, told the New York Times that the chain plans to improve the quality of its fresh food offerings — and introduce the iconic egg salad sandwiches that have gained popularity among American visitors to Japan.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Parveen Kumar | Hindustan Times | Getty Images Still, Indian car companies have the cheapest EV offerings, starting at as low as 1 million rupees.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The theater, which opened in October 2007, offers 12,000 square feet of VIP and hospitality areas and 10 dressing rooms, according to the venue's website.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Designed by renowned golf architect Brad Bell, the 18-hole course offers something for both the scratch golfer and the weekend warrior.—
David Weiss,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The victims said the thief stole close to $60,000 in cash and dozens of checks that were inside the box.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
-
And none of those figures includes losses victims were too embarrassed to report.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrifices.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrifices. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share