bless Hear it!

bless Definition

bless (bles)

transitive verb blessed or blest, bless′·ing

  1. to make or declare holy by a spoken formula or a sign; hallow; consecrate
  2. to ask divine favor for the minister blessed the congregation
  3. to favor or endow (with) to be blessed with eloquence
  4. to make happy or prosperous; gladden he blessed us with his leadership
  5. to think (oneself) happy; congratulate (oneself)
  6. to praise or glorify to bless the Lord
  7. to make the sign of the cross over or upon
  8. to keep or protect from harm, evil, etc.: obsolete, except in prayers, exclamations, etc.

Etymology: ME blessen, bletsien < OE bletsian, bledsian < blod, blood: rite of consecration by sprinkling an altar with blood

bless Idioms

bless me!

an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, dismay, etc.

God bless!

may God bestow blessings on you

bless Synonyms

bless

v.

  1. To give

    endow, bestow, favor, grant, commend, endorse, approve, praise, extol, give one's blessing; see also give 1.

  2. To call the blessing of God upon

    commend to God, give benediction, pray for, make the sign of the cross, cross, sign, sprinkle with holy water, anoint, anoint with oil, invoke benefits upon, give a blessing, absolve.

    Antonyms curse*, anathematize*, imprecate. *

  3. To make or pronounce holy

    baptize, canonize, glorify, honor, dedicate, dedicate to God, exalt, give benediction, absolve, anoint, ordain, hallow, consecrate, beatify, sanctify, enshrine, render acceptable to, sacrifice, confirm, laud.

    Antonyms sell to the devil, damn*, condemn.

bless Usage Examples

Object

  • O: Wherefore, we magnify thee, O most blessed Virgin.
  • 'em: Now I'm no crusty but the audience were pretty middle-aged ( bless 'em ).
  • thou: Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.
  • trinity: Was not the Father, the first Person of the blessed Trinity, most willing for this?
  • ya: LOL Anna says: March 28th, 2006 at 12:01 am Ave Dolly Hi Dolly, full of pace, God sure blesses ya.

Subject

priest: The conference was blessed by a priest in flowing robes who just happened to be a PhD informatics student.

Modifying Another Word

  • richly: May the Lord richly bless Pastor Legge for his wonderful preaching series.
  • abundantly: A little of what is lawful will be abundantly blessed, and abundance of what is unlawful will be wasted.
  • forever: They began to worship the birds and the animals and they served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever, amen.
  • truly: Father we are truly blessed, may you bless those who are less fortunate.
  • indeed: Blessed indeed are the people of whom this is true; blessed indeed are the people whose God is the Lord.

Followed by an intransitive particle

along: This way of escape began with Abraham whom God promised to bless along with his descendants.

Preposition: with

  • sunshine: We were blessed with sunshine and all had a great time.
  • weather: Last year's event, at Goring on the river Thames was a superb event, blessed with excellent weather.
  • blessing: Ephesians 1:3, " You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.
  • talent: Britton was a self-made editor who was blessed with a great talent in the area.
  • beach: Marmaris and it's environs are blessed with several good beaches, some developed, some still isolated.
  • fortune: Even when we are blessed with fortune we can interpret it as hardship.

Preposition: by

priest: The conference was blessed by a priest in flowing robes who just happened to be a PhD informatics student.