How to Use ordain in a Sentence

ordain

verb
  • The process was ordained by law.
  • She is an ordained minister.
  • The 25-year-old was ordained as a priest the day before.
    — Associated Press, Washington Post, 28 May 2017
  • Driscoll was born in Long Beach, Calif., and was ordained as a priest in 1965.
    — Michael Katz and Nicole Blanchard, idahostatesman, 24 Oct. 2017
  • MacArthur was ordained in 1953 in the Diocese of Sioux Falls.
    — Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Robert Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times, Journal Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2024
  • To be fair, maybe the ordained don’t have too many chances to hone their dating skills.
    — Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 18 May 2024
  • Then, as if ordained, Springer struck first for the Astros with a solo homer in the third.
    — Mark Collette, Houston Chronicle, 31 Oct. 2017
  • Holy Land The first female pastor was ordained in the Holy Land.
    — Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Haight was ordained in 1976 and spent the rest of his career in the Albany diocese.
    — Lee O. Sanderlin, Baltimore Sun, 27 June 2023
  • For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
    — Michael Harriot, The Root, 15 June 2018
  • Hart was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kansas City-St.
    — Judy L. Thomas, kansascity, 3 July 2018
  • The members of the quorum ordained and set him apart as president of the Church.
    — Glenna Christensen, idahostatesman, 19 Jan. 2018
  • The idea took hold nonetheless, and in June, 2000, he was ordained.
    — Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
  • This spring, nine men were ordained to the priesthood in Milwaukee, the most since 1992.
    — Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 9 June 2024
  • Flynn was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Albany in 1960.
    — Deanna Weniger, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2019
  • But Lambert Nieme and the six other men who will be ordained have been passed all of those tests.
    — Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2018
  • Ebenezer is where King was baptized as a child and ordained at 19.
    — Jeff Martin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Deacons are ordained ministers of the church and can fulfill some, but not all, of the roles a priest may fill.
    — Fox News, 27 Oct. 2019
  • His old mentor called him from Atlanta — the same man who had helped him get ordained the year before.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2025
  • Women cannot be ordained as deacons, priests or bishops in the Catholic Church.
    — Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Any man could do it, ordained or not, as long as the baptism was full immersion.
    — Jamie Quatro, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
  • Wilson, 27, was the one to marry the couple, as she is ordained through the Universal Life Church.
    — Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Dorwart was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1980.
    — Jeanette Steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, 22 Sep. 2017
  • In 1836, Smith ordained Elijah Abel, a Black man, to the priesthood office of elder.
    — Mica McGriggs, Teen Vogue, 11 July 2018
  • For them the flooding was ordained by God, a sign that they were vindicated in a running feud with the team.
    — Ismail Muhammad, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
  • Its president is ordained not only as the one true living prophet for the church, but for the entire world.
    — Eric Armstrong, New Republic, 12 Jan. 2018
  • He had been ordained as a Greek Orthodox priest on Oct. 1, about a week before.
    — David Anderson, The Aegis, 16 June 2018
  • He was born in Wichita and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita in May 1994.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Only question is whether the new, bad rules are ordained by Hasbro.
    — Chris Kohler, WIRED, 6 May 2010
  • That desire led him to the seminary in 1982, and, three years later, he was ordained as a deacon and priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
    — Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ordain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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