1-Stop Dictionary Reference

Bless

Acceptable For Game Play - US & UK word lists

This word is acceptable for play in the US & UK dictionaries that are being used in the following games:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

v. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify.

v. To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify.

v. To invoke divine favor upon.

v. To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord.

v. To confer well-being or prosperity on.

v. To endow, as with talent.

idiom. bless you Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

v. To make something blessed, to confer blessing upon.

v. (past tense only blessed) To turn (a reference) into an object.

interjection. Used as an expression of endearment, or (ironically) belittlement.

the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

v. To make or pronounce holy; to consecrate.

v. To make happy, blithesome, or joyous; to confer prosperity or happiness upon; to grant divine favor to.

v. To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; -- applied to persons.

v. To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, -- as on food.

v. To make the sign of the cross upon; to cross (one's self).

v. To guard; to keep; to protect.

v. To praise, or glorify; to extol for excellences.

v. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate.

v. To wave; to brandish.

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

To consecrate or set apart to holy or sacred purposes; make or pronounce holy: formerly occasionally used of persons.

To consecrate (a thing) by a religious rite, as with prayer and thanksgiving; consecrate or hallow by asking God's blessing on: as, to bless food.

To sanctify (one's self) by making the sign of the cross, especially as a defense against evil influences or agencies: used reflexively.

To defend; preserve; protect or guard from evil; reflexively, to guard one's self from; avoid; eschew.

To invoke or pronounce a blessing upon (another or others); commend to God's favor or protection.

To confer well-being upon; bestow happiness, prosperity, or good of any kind upon; make happy, prosperous, or fortunate; prosper with temporal or spiritual benefits: as, a nation blessed with peace and plenty.

To favor (with); make happy or fortunate by some specified means: as, blessed with a good constitution; blessed with filial children.

To praise or extol as holy or worthy of reverence, or

as the giver of benefits; extol or glorify with thankful acknowledgment of benefits received.

To esteem or account happy; congratulate; felicitate: used reflexively.

[Often used in exclamations with various shades of meaning departing more or less widely from the literal sense: as, God bless me! bless you! bless the mark! etc.]

To ejaculate “Bless me,” “God bless me,” or the like.

To wound; hurt; beat; thump.

[Appar. a deflection of sense Some fancy that it refers to “the old rite of blessing a field by directing the hands to all parts of it” (see bless).] To wave; brandish.

WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

v. give a benediction to

v. render holy by means of religious rites

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

v. confer prosperity or happiness on

Word Usage

"Inherent in the word bless is the desire for the salvation of that person."

Equivalent

bless us! to be blessed with

Antonym

curse condemn

Verb Form

blessed blesses blessing blest

Hypernym

Words that are more generic or abstract

gesticulate gesture motion confer bestow

Cross Reference

consecrate beatify congratulate praise to bless one's stars to bless one's self not to have a penny to bless one's self with god bless the mark to be blessed

Variant

blest

Synonym

Words with the same meaning

guard keep protect felicitate wave brandish

Rhyme

Words with the same terminal sound

Bess Es Etess Fs Hess Hesse Ins Jess Les Ness

Same Context

Words that are found in similar contexts

blessing happiness kindness bliss benediction comfort consolation privilege mercy glory