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bless definition

bless (bles)

transitive verb blessed or blest, blessing 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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

bless Usage Examples

Object

  • 'em: Now I'm no crusty but the audience were pretty middle-aged ( bless 'em ).

Modifying Another Word

  • richly: May the Lord richly bless Pastor Legge for his wonderful preaching series.

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.

Preposition: by

  • priest: The conference was blessed by a priest in flowing robes who just happened to be a PhD informatics student.
bless usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

bless quotes

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

-Bible (Old Testament)

The L bless thee, and keep thee: The L makehisfaceshineuponthee, and be gracious unto thee: The L lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

-Bible (Old Testament)

Oh, doughty sons of Hungary! May all success Attend and bless Your warlike ironmongery!

-Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

bless quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"bless." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/bless>

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bless. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/bless

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