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BLESSING
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of praying for divine protection
Synonyms:
benediction; blessing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("blessing" is a kind of...):
prayer; supplication (the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving))
Derivation:
bless (give a benediction to)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The formal act of approving
Example:
his decision merited the approval of any sensible person
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("blessing" is a kind of...):
support (aiding the cause or policy or interests of)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blessing"):
acceptance; acceptation; adoption; espousal (the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception)
backing; backup; championship; patronage (the act of providing approval and support)
admiration; appreciation (a favorable judgment)
reinforcement; reward (an act performed to strengthen approved behavior)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection
Synonyms:
benediction; blessing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("blessing" is a kind of...):
orison; petition; prayer (reverent petition to a deity)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blessing"):
benison (a spoken blessing)
Derivation:
bless (give a benediction to)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A short prayer of thanks before a meal
Example:
their youngest son said grace
Synonyms:
blessing; grace; thanksgiving
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("blessing" is a kind of...):
orison; petition; prayer (reverent petition to a deity)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A desirable state
Example:
a spanking breeze is a boon to sailors
Synonyms:
blessing; boon
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("blessing" is a kind of...):
good fortune; good luck; luckiness (an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blessing"):
mercy (something for which to be thankful)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb bless
Context examples:
Kneel down, my child, and take an old man's blessing.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
When one is in great pain, you know one cannot feel any blessing quite as it may deserve.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Our situation with regard to Lady Catherine's family is indeed the sort of extraordinary advantage and blessing which few can boast.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
I said that I had my phaeton ready, and that he might, for all I knew, be only in time to receive the dying blessing of that parent whom he had never known.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mrs. John Dashwood wished it likewise; but in the mean while, till one of these superior blessings could be attained, it would have quieted her ambition to see him driving a barouche.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Just as eleven of them had done blessing her, a great noise was heard in the courtyard, and word was brought that the thirteenth fairy was come, with a black cap on her head, and black shoes on her feet, and a broomstick in her hand: and presently up she came into the dining-hall.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
My daughter kneeled to ask my blessing, but I could not see her till she arose, having been so long used to stand with my head and eyes erect to above sixty feet; and then I went to take her up with one hand by the waist.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
I beg pardon—Ladies, Gentlemen, and Children—I must apologize, I had inadvertently omitted a considerable section of this audience (tumult, during which the Professor stood with one hand raised and his enormous head nodding sympathetically, as if he were bestowing a pontifical blessing upon the crowd), I have been selected to move a vote of thanks to Mr. Waldron for the very picturesque and imaginative address to which we have just listened.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Everybody's heart is open, you know, when they have recently escaped from severe pain, or are recovering the blessing of health, and Nurse Rooke thoroughly understands when to speak.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Good-bye, my dearest Lucy, and all blessings on you.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
