sanctify means to make holy; to consecrate; to set aside for sacred or ceremonial use. It carries an Arena rating of 1529, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sanctify ranks #601 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #979 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,022 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #2,314 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words.
sanctify is pronounced /ˈsæŋk.tɪ.faɪ/.
Why “sanctify” is a great word
To set apart as or declare holy; to consecrate. From Anglo-Norman seintefier, from Old French saintefier, from Late Latin sānctificō, from Latin sānctus ("holy") + faciō ("do, make"), first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike "hallow," which suggests a specific religious rite, or "profane," which drags the sacred downward through disrespect, to sanctify is the fundamental act of demarcation, the active transformation of the ordinary into the untouchable. It is the bishop's chrism on a cathedral stone, the deliberate silence that falls when a name is spoken at a memorial, the quiet vow that transforms a room into a refuge—the human instinct to carve out a piece of the world and hold it, trembling, in the palm of something greater.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman seintefier, from Old French saintefier, from Late Latin sānctificō, from Latin sānctus (“holy”) + faciō (“do, make”). Form altered to conform with Latin.
verb
- To make holy; to consecrate; to set aside for sacred or ceremonial use.e.g.“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
- To free from sin; to purify.e.g.“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
- To make acceptable or useful under religious law or practice.e.g.“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
- To endorse with religious sanction.
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