Meanings
consecrate1
present singular third person consecrates · participle present consecrating · participle past consecrated · past consecrated
- transitiveTo declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address_(Bliss_copy)), near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bliss copy, page 2Synonyms: behallow, hallow · Antonyms: desecrate, defile, corrupt, defile, desecrate, profanate, profane, profanize
- transitiveTo commit (oneself or one's time) solemnly to some aim or task.
consecrate2
comparative more consecrate · superlative most consecrate
- rareConsecrated, devoted, dedicated, sacred.
They were assembled in that consecrate place.
1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC1 more example
And that this body conſecrate to thee, By Ruffian Luſt ſhould be contaminate!
c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 89, column 1
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivesolemnly dedicated to or set apart for a high or sacred purpose
verbgive entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause
verbrender holy by means of religious rites
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
consecrate · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Latincon-
- Proto-Indo-European*seh₂k-
- Proto-Indo-European*sh₂krós
- Proto-Italic*sakros
- Proto-Italic*sakrāō
- Latinsacrō
- Latincōnsecrō
- Middle Englishconsecraten
- Englishconsecrate
First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecraten (“to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life”), from consecrat(e) (“consecrated”, used as the past participle of consecraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin cōnsecrātus, perfect passive participle of cōnsecrāre, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →consecrate · adjective
- Middle Englishconsecrat(e)“consecrated”
- Englishconsecrate
First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecrat(e) (“consecrated”), used as the past participle of consecraten (“to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life”); see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. Regular participial usage up until Early Modern English.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic قَدَّسَ
- قَدَّسَ (qaddasa)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Bulgarian освещавам
- освещавам (osveštavam)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Chinese Mandarin 祝聖 /祝圣, 開光 /开光
- 祝聖 /祝圣 (zhùshèng)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- 開光 /开光 (kāiguāng)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Czech zasvětit
- zasvětitdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Danish vie
- viedeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Esperanto konsekri
- konsekrideclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Finnish pyhittää
- pyhittäädeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
French consacrer
- consacrerdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
German weihen
- weihendeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Greek αγιάζω
- αγιάζω (agiázo)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Hawaiian hoʻokapu
- hoʻokapudeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Hebrew קידש \ קִדֵּשׁ
- קידש \ קִדֵּשׁ (kidésh)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Hungarian szentel, felszentel
- szenteldeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- felszenteldeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- megszenteldeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Icelandic helga
- helgadeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Indonesian menahbiskan
- menahbiskandeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Irish coisric
- coisricdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Latin sanciō, consecrō
- sanciōdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- consecrōdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Māori whakatapu, whakataputapu
- whakatapudeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- whakataputapudeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Norwegian konsekrere, vie
- konsekreredeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- viedeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Polish święcić, poświęcić
- święcićdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- poświęcićdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Portuguese consagrar
- consagrardeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Russian освяща́ть, освяти́ть
- освяща́ть (osvjaščátʹ)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- освяти́ть (osvjatítʹ)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Scottish Gaelic coisrig, naomhaich
- coisrigdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- naomhaichdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Spanish consagrar
- consagrardeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Swedish helga
- helgadeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Turkish kutsamak, adamak
- kutsamakdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- adamakdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- kutsallaştırmakdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- kutsal kılmakdeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Ukrainian висвя́чувати, ви́святити
- висвя́чувати (vysvjáčuvaty)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- ви́святити (výsvjatyty)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- освя́чувати (osvjáčuvaty)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
- освяти́ти (osvjatýty)declare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Welsh cysegru
- cysegrudeclare holy, or make holy by some procedure
Cite this entry
consecrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consecrate
“consecrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consecrate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “consecrate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consecrate.
Source: consecrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.