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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2
as in to bless
to make holy through prayers or ritual
sanctify the bread for Communion
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Recent Examples of sanctify
Just a space sanctified by the men who’d bled and died on this ground.
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John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Turks have long revered, even sanctified, the state as the ultimate defense against internal strife and dissolution in a heterogeneous society.
—Halil Karaveli, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2016
Accentuating the glass wrinkles with gilding serves to sanctify the century-old depot structure.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
By the end of the second century, early Christian theologians like St. Clement of Alexandria described two fires: one that destroys and one that sanctifies.
—Lanta Davis and Vince Reighard, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sanctify 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctify
Verb
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One City’s Secret to Happiness: The Annual Burning of a 50-Foot Effigy Every year, Santa Fe incinerates a giant puppet of Zozobra — a ritual meant to purge anxiety and promote a reset.Kim Tingley Caity Weaver Sterry Butcher Lulu Garcia-Navarro Kwame Anthony Appiah Kwame Anthony Appiah Yotam Ottolenghi Elizabeth Nelson Andrew Willett John Hodgman, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2024
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In the primaries that followed, the three state leaders began a complex and somewhat uncoordinated campaign to purge Republicans in the relatively independent state House who had defied them on Paxton and vouchers.Saul Elbein, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
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This is especially true when being blessed to be a member of the Detroit Lions.Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 25 Nov. 2024
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The queen of self-love, Lizzo, recently blessed Instagram with a new set of selfies, and fans are in awe of her weight loss.Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 25 Nov. 2024
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Cleanse, hydrate, and nourish your skin with a gentle cleanser, restorative night cream, purifying clay mask, and more.Mia Huelsbeck, People.com, 28 Nov. 2024
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This mystical scent is purifying and invigorating, balancing crispness with a festive warmth that feels wild and green.Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 26 Nov. 2024
Verb
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In its operation, however, the ICC consecrated a much more restricted international legal order, one that effectively presumed that grave atrocity crimes are the province only of the non-Western world.Oumar Ba, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2021
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Nearby is Duomo di Modena, consecrated in 1184, the former seat of the Diocese, later Archdiocese, of Modena.Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Aug. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near sanctify
Cite this Entry
“Sanctify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctify. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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