1
as in to purge
to free from moral guilt or blemish especially ceremonially
received the sacrament of penance, whereby they were sanctified and restored to divine grace
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to bless
to make holy through prayers or ritual
sanctify the bread for Communion
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sanctify
For King, defending a people did not mean sanctifying a state.
—
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
But months later, the campaign to sanctify Kirk appears to have backfired in some ways.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
An overexposed photo shows Miralba from the torso up, looking into a white sky, with a ray of light almost sanctifying her face.
—Camila Osorio, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
But months later, the campaign to sanctify Kirk appears to have backfired in some ways.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
An overexposed photo shows Miralba from the torso up, looking into a white sky, with a ray of light almost sanctifying her face.
—Camila Osorio, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
These are the kinds of faces O’Rourke foregrounds, similarly centering the quotidian to sanctifying effect.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctify
Verb
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At various points during his interview with Sobchak, Dugin called the sport of surfing evil and said that its practitioners should be purged.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
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The idea that dogs graze to purge a sick stomach is one of the explanations owners reach for most.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Disclosure Day depicts the gradual unmasking of a grand conspiracy, through the perspective of alien abductees blessed with otherworldly abilities.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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Between 2020 and 2023, I was blessed with two trips to Prentice Women’s Hospital for the birth of my two children and had the misfortune of making several urgent trips to Lurie’s Children’s Hospital.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2026
Verb
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In place of purifying catharsis, tragicomedy traffics in unresolved tension.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
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Lifestraw’s Go Series bottle lets hikers and campers purify their water anywhere thanks to the powerful, in-lid straw filter.—
Francesca Krempa,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
Verb
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By visiting the Basilica and blessing the new tower, the pope follows in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI who in 2010 consecrated the Sagrada Familia.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
10 June 2026
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Leo will formally consecrate the tower on Wednesday night.—
Joseph Wilson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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