1
as in consecration
the act of making something holy through religious ritual the sacred site required another sanctification after it had been defiled by the invaders

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sanctification The sanctification of Lee and other Confederate leaders, in turn, pushed the complexities of the surrender and of the Civil War era into the shadows, allowing the myth of Appomattox to flourish for more than a century. Made By History, Time, 9 Apr. 2025 The underlying problem with the West, Mishra argues, is its sanctification of the Holocaust. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2025 The result is that liberal analysts prefer the sanctification of allies and the demonization of rivals to objective and informed analysis. Anatol Lieven, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025 But if her death allows for her sanctification, the film doesn’t quite know how to represent her life. Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024 But Ii her death allows for her sanctification, the film doesn’t quite know how to represent her life. Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024 This sanctification was a crucial step in including medicine as its own advanced degree program at the first universities that were established around 1200 in Europe. Meg Leja, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023 Doing so is not a violation but a sanctification of Shabbat. Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 7 Sep. 2021 There is so much sanctification that goes on in the wake of somebody’s death where people want to put him on a pedestal. Chris Lee, Vulture, 15 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctification
Noun
  • By eliminating the physical emblem of papal power, the Church underscores that the authority of the previous pope cannot be transferred, thus paving the way for the election and consecration of a new leader.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • But this consecration can be frightening too, as Western stars have almost immediately embraced Nigerian sounds.
    Billboard France, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The treatment involves four stages: purification, warmth, focus and recovery.
    Akili King, Essence, 23 May 2025
  • Call it a long-overdue reckoning, repossession or purification.
    Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • Prophecies about salvation, spiritual warfare, and diabolic foes merged seamlessly into American evangelicalism; the disorientation of the pandemic deepened the appeal, and Q’s ideas found believers among yoga instructors, wellness influencers, and suburban moms.
    Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
  • Alas, the shape of his life doesn’t bend toward salvation, just as Dickinson’s film doesn’t guide him towards any sort of narrative salvation.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sanctification.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctification. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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