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DEVOTION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(usually plural) religious observance or prayers (usually spoken silently)
Example:
he returned to his devotions
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("devotion" is a kind of...):
prayer; supplication (the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving))
Domain usage:
plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "devotion"):
bhakti ((Hinduism) loving devotion to a deity leading to salvation and nirvana; open to all persons independent of caste or sex)
novena (a Roman Catholic devotion consisting of prayers on nine consecutive days)
Stations; Stations of the Cross ((Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings representing successive incidents during Jesus' passage from Pilate's house to his crucifixion at Calvary)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Religious zeal; the willingness to serve God
Synonyms:
cultism; devotion; veneration
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("devotion" is a kind of...):
worship (the activity of worshipping)
Derivation:
devote (give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Commitment to some purpose
Example:
the devotion of his time and wealth to science
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("devotion" is a kind of...):
allegiance; commitment; dedication; loyalty (the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "devotion"):
cultism (devotion to the doctrine or a cult or to the practices of a cult)
hobbyism (a devotion to hobbies)
fetich; fetish (excessive or irrational devotion to some activity)
party spirit (devotion to a political party)
Derivation:
devote (give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Feelings of ardent love
Example:
their devotion to each other was beautiful
Synonyms:
devotedness; devotion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("devotion" is a kind of...):
love (a strong positive emotion of regard and affection)
Context examples:
But to a Genevan magistrate, whose mind was occupied by far other ideas than those of devotion and heroism, this elevation of mind had much the appearance of madness.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
The acceptance of The Parthenon had recalled to him that during his five days' devotion to "Overdue" he had not heard from Brissenden nor even thought about him.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Dr. Shlessinger’s remarkable personality, his whole hearted devotion, and the fact that he was recovering from a disease contracted in the exercise of his apostolic duties affected her deeply.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Among the rest, I was much diverted with a little old treatise, which always lay in Glumdalclitch’s bed chamber, and belonged to her governess, a grave elderly gentlewoman, who dealt in writings of morality and devotion.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
I doubted it more the next day on Box Hill; when, provoked by such conduct on my side, such shameful, insolent neglect of her, and such apparent devotion to Miss W., as it would have been impossible for any woman of sense to endure, she spoke her resentment in a form of words perfectly intelligible to me.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
What he could not clear away, however, was the effect of those years of morbid and unnatural life spent in the hidden chambers of the old house; and it was only the devotion of his wife and of his son which kept the thin and flickering flame of his life alight.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr. Bhaer's devotion was sincere, however likewise effective—for honesty is the best policy in love as in law.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
But God is merciful and just, and knows your pain and your devotion to that dear Madam Mina.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
“I cannot wonder at his devotion!”
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
He put me off his knee, rose, and reverently lifting his hat from his brow, and bending his sightless eyes to the earth, he stood in mute devotion.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
