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CHURCH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A service conducted in a house of worship
Example:
don't be late for church
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("church" is a kind of...):
divine service; religious service; service (the act of public worship following prescribed rules)
Domain member category:
official ((of a church) given official status as a national or state institution)
attend; go to (be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.)
disestablish (deprive (an established church) of its status)
separationist; separatist (an advocate of secession or separation from a larger group (such as an established church or a national union))
High Anglican Church; High Church (a group in the Anglican Church that emphasizes the Catholic tradition (especially in sacraments and rituals and obedience to church authority))
Anglican Church; Anglican Communion; Church of England (the national church of England (and all other churches in other countries that share its beliefs); has its see in Canterbury and the sovereign as its temporal head)
discourse; preaching; sermon (an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service))
banns (a public announcement of a proposed marriage)
Puritanism (the beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects))
spire; steeple (a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top)
hassock (a cushion for kneeling on (as when praying in church))
crypt (a cellar or vault or underground burial chamber (especially beneath a church))
church bell (a bell in a church tower (usually sounded to summon people to church))
church; church building (a place for public (especially Christian) worship)
Divine Office (canonical prayers recited daily by priests (e.g. the breviary of the Roman Catholic Church))
Derivation:
church (perform a special church rite or service for)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A place for public (especially Christian) worship
Example:
the church was empty
Synonyms:
church; church building
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("church" is a kind of...):
house of God; house of prayer; house of worship; place of worship (any building where congregations gather for prayer)
Meronyms (parts of "church"):
nave (the central area of a church)
presbytery (building reserved for the officiating clergy)
rood screen (a screen in a church; separates the nave from the choir or chancel)
side chapel (a small chapel off the side aisle of a church)
transept (structure forming the transverse part of a cruciform church; crosses the nave at right angles)
sacristy; vestry (a room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are held)
narthex (a vestibule leading to the nave of a church)
lady chapel (a small chapel in a church; dedicated to the Virgin Mary)
church tower (the tower of a church)
bema; chancel; sanctuary (area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir; often enclosed by a lattice or railing)
apse; apsis (a domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar)
amen corner (area reserved for persons leading the responsive 'amens')
Domain category:
church; church service (a service conducted in a house of worship)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "church"):
abbey (a church associated with a monastery or convent)
basilica (an early Christian church designed like a Roman basilica; or a Roman Catholic church or cathedral accorded certain privileges)
cathedral (any large and important church)
cathedral; duomo (the principal Christian church building of a bishop's diocese)
kirk (a Scottish church)
Derivation:
church (perform a special church rite or service for)
churchly (resembling or suggesting or appropriate to a church)
Sense 3
Meaning:
One of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
Synonyms:
Christian church; church
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("church" is a kind of...):
faith; organized religion; religion (an institution to express belief in a divine power)
Meronyms (members of "church"):
Christian (a religious person who believes Jesus is the Christ and who is a member of a Christian denomination)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "church"):
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church; Armenian Church (an independent Christian church established in Armenia since 300; was influenced by both Roman and Byzantine traditions)
Catholic Church (any of several churches claiming to have maintained historical continuity with the original Christian Church)
Nestorian Church (a Christian Church in the Middle East that followed Nestorianism; there is still a small Nestorian Church in Iraq)
Coptic Church (the ancient Christian church of Egypt)
Protestant; Protestant Church (the Protestant churches and denominations collectively)
Unification Church (a Christian church (with some Buddhist elements) founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon and known for staging mass weddings and other communal activities)
Holonyms ("church" is a part of...):
Christendom; Christianity (the collective body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in Europe and the Americas and Australia))
Sense 4
Meaning:
The body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church
Example:
our church is hosting a picnic next week
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("church" is a kind of...):
body (a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity)
Holonyms ("church" is a part of...):
Christendom; Christianity (the collective body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in Europe and the Americas and Australia))
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Perform a special church rite or service for
Example:
church a woman after childbirth
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "church" is one way to...):
perform (perform a function)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
church (a service conducted in a house of worship)
church (a place for public (especially Christian) worship)
Context examples:
There is a church there, you see, a few cottages, and an inn.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A little way off, beyond a line of scattered juniper-trees, which marked the pathway to the church, a white, dim figure flitted in the direction of the tomb.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
They have been buried, I suppose, in the parish church. There you must look for the banners and the achievements.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
It was no wonder that a train of twenty young couple now walked after her to church.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
It is but a small place, with an ivied church, a fine vicarage, and a row of red-brick cottages each in its own little garden.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Colonel Fitzwilliam had called at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr. Darcy they had seen only at church.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
I always preferred the church, as I still do.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
I feel that I have betrayed myself perpetually—so unguarded in speaking of my partiality for the church!
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Happy, thoughtful times there in the old study which Jo called 'the church of one member', and from which she came with fresh courage, recovered cheerfulness, and a more submissive spirit.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The art or science of building; especially, the art of building houses, churches, bridges, and other structures, for the purposes of civil life
(Architecture, NCI Thesaurus)
