grace

Ads

Hard-to-find short films www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/ 3 uplifting shorts like Grace plus an inspiring feature monthly

Walking in Victory www.amazon.com/ Why God's grace can change you like legalism never could!

noun

elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action: We watched her skate with effortless grace across the ice. Synonyms: attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, comeliness, ease, lissomeness, fluidity. Antonyms: stiffness, ugliness, awkwardness, clumsiness; klutziness.

a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment: He lacked the manly graces.

favor or goodwill. Synonyms: kindness, kindliness, love, benignity; condescension.

a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school. Synonyms: forgiveness, charity, mercifulness. Antonyms: animosity, enmity, disfavor.

mercy; clemency; pardon: He was saved by an act of grace from the governor. Synonyms: lenity, leniency, reprieve. Antonyms: harshness.

favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.

an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied: The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days' grace before the policy lapses. Compare grace period.

Theology.

the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.

the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.

Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.

10.

a short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given: Grandfather will now say grace.

11.

( usually initial capital letter ) a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually preceded by your, his, etc.).

12.

Graces, Classical Mythology. the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.

13.

Music. grace note.

Relevant Questions

What Is Grace?

What Is God Grace?

Who Sings Amazing Grace?

What Is The Definition O...

verb (used with object)

14.

to lend or add grace to; adorn: Many fine paintings graced the rooms of the house. Synonyms: embellish, beautify, deck, decorate, ornament; enhance, honor. Antonyms: disfigure, desecrate, demean.

15.

to favor or honor: to grace an occasion with one's presence. Synonyms: glorify, elevate, exalt. Antonyms: disrespect, dishonor.

00:10

Grace is one of our favorite verbs.

So is yaff. Does it mean:

to bark; yelp.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Idioms

16.

but for the grace of God, under less fortunate circumstances: But for the grace of God, the brick that just fell from the roof would have hit me on the head!

17.

by the grace of God, thankfully; fortunately: By the grace of God, I won't have to deal with tax returns for another year.

18.

fall from grace,

Theology. to relapse into sin or disfavor.

to lose favor; be discredited: He fell from grace when the boss found out he had lied.

19.

have the grace to, to be so kind as to: Would you have the grace to help, please?

20.

in someone's good/bad graces, regarded with favor (or disfavor) by someone: It is a wonder that I have managed to stay in her good graces this long.

21.

with bad grace, reluctantly; grudgingly: He apologized, but did so with bad grace. Also, with a bad grace.

22.

with good grace, willingly; ungrudgingly: She took on the extra work with good grace.

Origin:
1125–75; Middle English < Old French < Latin grātia favor, kindness, esteem, derivative of grātus pleasing

Related forms

grace·like, adjective

un·graced, adjective

Word story
¡Gracias! Grazie! When a Spanish or Italian speaker says thanks, they are invoking one of the meanings behind the word grace. That’s because grace, gracias, and grazie all descend from the same Latin word, grātia.
For the ancient Romans, grātia had three distinct meanings: (1) a pleasing quality, (2) favor or goodwill, and (3) gratitude or thanks. We find all three of these meanings in modern-day English. The first when we describe someone as having (or not having) grace: “Dancing, she had all the grace of an elephant on skates.” The second when we talk about giving or getting grace: “by the grace of God.” And the third when we say grace (i.e., “thanks”) at a meal.
So if you have something to be grateful for, you can say thank-you, grātia, gracias, or grazie. Just make sure you don’t give that something a coup de grâce.

Popular references
—Amazing Grace: A hymn written by English clergyman John Newton, who participated in the slave trade before finding religion.
—Grace: Jeff Buckley’s sole studio album, released in 1994, just three years before his early death.

Related Quotations

“When a person expends the least amount of motion on one action, that is grace.“
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Complete Works and Letters in Thirty Volumes, Letters, vol. 8, p. 11, “Nauka” (1976)

“Jesus, help me find my proper place. / Help in my weakness, ’cause I’ve fallen out of grace.“
—Lou Reed, “Jesus“ The Velvet Underground (1969)

“When a clergyman is present, he is asked to say grace, often after everyone is seated. But in the case of a friend, he should be asked in advance if he would like to say grace.“
—Nancy Tuckerman & Nancy Dunnan, The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette (1995)

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

William Russell, 1832–1904, U.S. financier and shipping magnate, born in Ireland: mayor of New York City 1880–88.

a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Link To grace

Collins

World English Dictionary

grace (ɡreɪs)

—n
1.	elegance and beauty of movement, form, expression, or proportion
2.	a pleasing or charming quality
3.	goodwill or favour
4.	the granting of a favour or the manifestation of goodwill, esp by a superior
5.	a sense of propriety and consideration for others
6.	(plural)
	a. affectation of manner (esp in the phrase airs and graces)
	b. in someone's good graces regarded favourably and with kindness by someone
7.	mercy; clemency
8.	Christianity
	a. the free and unmerited favour of God shown towards man
	b. the divine assistance and power given to man in spiritual rebirth and sanctification
	c. the condition of being favoured or sanctified by God
	d. an unmerited gift, favour, etc, granted by God
9.	a short prayer recited before or after a meal to invoke a blessing upon the food or give thanks for it
10.	music a melodic ornament or decoration
11.	See days of grace
12.	with bad grace, with a bad grace unwillingly or grudgingly
13.	with good grace, with a good grace willingly or cheerfully

—vb
14.	(tr) to add elegance and beauty to: flowers graced the room
15.	(tr) to honour or favour: to grace a party with one's presence
16.	to ornament or decorate (a melody, part, etc) with nonessential notes

[C12: from Old French, from Latin grātia, from grātus pleasing]

Grace¹ (ɡreɪs)

—n (preceded by your, his, or her)
	a title used to address or refer to a duke, duchess, or archbishop

Grace² (ɡreɪs)

—n
	W(illiam) G(ilbert). 1848--1915, English cricketer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

grace

late 12c., "God's favor or help," from O.Fr. grace "pleasing quality, favor, good will, thanks," from L. gratia "pleasing quality, good will, gratitude," from gratus "pleasing, agreeable," from PIE base *gwer- "to praise, welcome" (cf. Skt. grnati "sings, praises, announces," Lith. giriu "to praise,

celebrate," Avestan gar- "to praise"). Sense of "virtue" is early 14c., that of "beauty of form or movement, pleasing quality" is mid-14c. In classical sense, "one of the three sister goddesses (L. Gratiæ, Gk. Kharites), bestowers of beauty and charm," it is first recorded in English 1579 in Spenser. The short prayer that is said before or after a meal (early 13c., until 16c. usually graces) is in the sense of "gratitude." Verb meaning "to show favor" (mid-15c.) led to that of "to lend or add grace to something" (1580s, e.g. grace us with your presence), which is the root of the musical sense in grace notes (1650s).

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Grace definition

(1.) Of form or person (Prov. 1:9; 3:22; Ps. 45:2). (2.) Favour, kindness, friendship (Gen. 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Tim. 1:9). (3.) God's forgiving mercy (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:5). (4.) The gospel as distinguished from the law (John 1:17; Rom. 6:14; 1 Pet. 5:12). (5.) Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues (Rom. 15:15; 1 Cor. 15:10; Eph. 3:8). (6.) Christian virtues (2 Cor. 8:7; 2 Pet. 3:18). (7.) The glory hereafter to be revealed (1 Pet. 1:13).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

grace

see fall from grace; in someone's bad graces; in someone's good graces; saving grace; say grace; there but for the grace of god; with good grace.