consecrate

[ kon-si-kreyt ]
See synonyms for consecrate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),con·se·crat·ed, con·se·crat·ing.
  1. to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity: to consecrate a new church building.

  2. to make (something) an object of honor or veneration; hallow: a custom consecrated by time.

  1. to devote or dedicate to some purpose: a life consecrated to science.

  2. to admit or ordain to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate.

  3. to change (bread and wine) into the Eucharist.

adjective

Origin of consecrate

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English consecraten, from Latin consecrātus (past participle of consecrāre ), equivalent to con- + -secr- (variant, in noninitial syllables, of sacer “consecrated, holy”) + -ātus, past participle suffix; see origin at con-, sacred, -ate1

synonym study For consecrate

3. See devote. 6. See holy.

Other words for consecrate

Opposites for consecrate

Other words from consecrate

  • con·se·cra·tor, con·se·crat·er, noun
  • con·se·cra·to·ry [kon-si-kruh-tawr-ee], /ˈkɒn sɪ krəˌtɔr i/, con·se·cra·tive, adjective
  • de·con·se·crate, verb (used with object), de·con·se·crat·ed, de·con·se·crat·ing.
  • pre·con·se·crate, verb (used with object), pre·con·se·crat·ed, pre·con·se·crat·ing.
  • re·con·se·crate, verb (used with object), re·con·se·crat·ed, re·con·se·crat·ing.
  • un·con·se·cra·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for consecrate

consecrate

/ (ˈkɒnsɪˌkreɪt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to make or declare sacred or holy; sanctify

  2. to dedicate (one's life, time, etc) to a specific purpose

  1. to ordain (a bishop)

  2. Christianity to sanctify (bread and wine) for the Eucharist to be received as the body and blood of Christ

  3. to cause to be respected or revered; venerate: time has consecrated this custom

adjective
  1. archaic consecrated

Origin of consecrate

1
C15: from Latin consecrāre, from com- (intensive) + sacrāre to devote, from sacer sacred

Derived forms of consecrate

  • consecration, noun
  • consecrator, noun
  • consecratory (ˌkɒnsɪˈkreɪtərɪ) or consecrative, adjective

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