Library / English Dictionary

BLESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: blest   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give a benediction to

Example:

The dying man blessed his son

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bless" is one way to...):

arouse; bring up; call down; call forth; conjure; conjure up; evoke; invoke; put forward; raise; stir (summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bless"):

anele; anoint; embrocate; inunct; oil (administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

curse (wish harm upon; invoke evil upon)

Derivation:

blessing (the act of praying for divine protection)

blessing (a ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Render holy by means of religious rites

Synonyms:

bless; consecrate; hallow; sanctify

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bless" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bless"):

reconsecrate (consecrate anew, as after a desecration)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate

Synonyms:

bless; sign

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bless" is one way to...):

gesticulate; gesture; motion (show, express or direct through movement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Confer prosperity or happiness on

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "bless" is one way to...):

bestow; confer (present)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Credits

 Context examples: 

Well, I’m blessed if it isn’t Boy Jim!

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neptune’s turn to direct will be quite a blessing for you will then find the right person or facility for your parent.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Bless me, Martin thought to himself, he doesn't know what I was talking about.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Blessed thistle may have anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects.

(Blessed thistle, NCI Dictionary)

A substance found in certain plants, including blessed thistle.

(Cnicin, NCI Dictionary)

Her presence had seemed a blessing to them, but it would be unfair to her to keep her in poverty and want when Providence afforded her such powerful protection.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“It’s a blessed mystery to me,” cried Pycroft, scratching his head.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I have always been blessed with excellent health, and no climate disagrees with me.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

What a blessing, that she never had any children!

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence; but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though He often blesses them when they are used discreetly.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)