baptism
Ecclesiastical. a ceremonial immersion in water, or application of water, as an initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church.
any similar ceremony or action of initiation, dedication, etc.
a trying or purifying experience or initiation.
Christian Science. purification of thought and character.
Origin of baptism
1Other words for baptism
Other words from baptism
- bap·tis·mal [bap-tiz-muhl], /bæpˈtɪz məl/, adjective
- bap·tis·mal·ly, adverb
- post·bap·tis·mal, adjective
- pseu·do·bap·tis·mal, adjective
- re·bap·tism, noun
Words Nearby baptism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use baptism in a sentence
To get to know the community, the photographers attended baptisms, funerals and weddings.
At the Smithsonian, a photographic portrait of East Baltimore, decades before the dawn of the selfie era | Kelsey Ables | August 26, 2021 | Washington PostPrince George has arrived for his christening wearing a replica of the traditional royal baptism gown designed in 1841.
First Photograph of Prince George at Christening as Godparents Finally Named | Tom Sykes | October 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThey accepted baptism as a sort of sacred pledge of friendship and alliance with the French.
There was a private baptism in his library one Sunday afternoon, and she was christened Amy Eudora.
The Cromptons | Mary J. HolmesPrivate baptism at his birth was first administered, fearing his immediate death.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
The priest may be obliged to administer baptism, to hear confession, to give the Viaticum and Extreme Unction.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin MalleySo the Earl being thus beset chose to accept baptism, and was baptized there and then with all his men.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) | Snorri Sturluson
British Dictionary definitions for baptism
/ (ˈbæpˌtɪzəm) /
a Christian religious rite consisting of immersion in or sprinkling with water as a sign that the subject is cleansed from sin and constituted as a member of the Church
the act of baptizing or of undergoing baptism
any similar experience of initiation, regeneration, or dedication
Derived forms of baptism
- baptismal, adjective
- baptismally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for baptism
The ceremony of initiation into Christianity; in most Christian churches, it is considered a sacrament. Persons baptized either have water poured on them or are immersed in water; some groups of Christians (see also Christian) insist on immersion. The effect of baptism, in Christian belief, is to cleanse persons of their sins, so that they are born into a new life with Jesus. Most churches baptize members when they are infants, but some groups, like the Baptists, insist on adult baptism. Jesus himself was baptized. (See John the Baptist.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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