How to Use sanctify in a Sentence

sanctify

verb
Definition of sanctifynext
Synonyms for sanctifynext
  • His clear tenor sanctified the songs, gave them a bit of distance from their author.
    — Brendan Fitzgerald, Longreads, 14 Mar. 2020
  • Confined to one gallery with a dozen or so large-scale works, that show felt almost sanctified, as if one were in a chapel.
    — Siobhan Morrissey, miamiherald, 13 Oct. 2017
  • The Kiddush is a blessing to sanctify the beginning of the holiday.
    — Kelsey Hurwitz, Woman's Day, 11 July 2022
  • But the songs — one sanctified, the other low-down — also reflect the remarkable range of Franklin's singing on this deep soul classic.
    — Mikael Wood, latimes.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • These sequences sanctify the historical position that the onerous terms of the treaty are what led to Hitler and the Holocaust.
    — John Anderson, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022
  • For a moment in time, with the bright lights and loud music, everyone in that room was sanctified under the holy sway of whatever Deion had to say.
    — Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
  • An ornate metal crucifix in the foreground and a wooden one on the wall behind the couple sanctify the scene.
    — Peter Van Agtmael, Magazine, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Teach, sanctify, govern: The three verbs define the work of a bishop, according to tradition and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
    — Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Usually they are found in temples, where water is sanctified by being poured over the top.
    — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 21 Feb. 2023
  • Guests will see priests sanctify the sprawling space on Friday and install new deities on Saturday and Sunday.
    — Jonathan M. Pitts, baltimoresun.com, 28 Apr. 2017
  • Sooner or later, Adani will expand the mine even further—disturbing even the makeshift spot for worship by cutting down the trees sanctified with mud.
    — Kuwar Singh, Quartz India, 24 Oct. 2019
  • The move also seems to sanctify Amazon’s role as the dominant interface between brands and users.
    — Ángel González, The Seattle Times, 20 July 2017
  • Her books are sanctified by an expansive love for humankind.
    — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 10 Feb. 2017
  • But the coronation sanctifies a monarch’s rule and, through a national celebration, aims to bind the sovereign to the people.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 6 May 2023
  • In this way, even humble tasks can become a sacramental gesture, sanctified by the divine.
    — Danny Heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2017
  • My book is earmarked, underlined, co-signed and sanctified.
    — Angela Helm, The Root, 12 Apr. 2018
  • Indeed to sanctify your memory would be to miss out on the very core of your being, your wonderfully mischievous sense of humor with a laugh that bent you double.
    — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 31 Aug. 2022
  • One of these states would be Israel, a homeland for Jews in territory sanctified for them by heritage and history.
    — Martin Peretz, WSJ, 8 May 2018
  • De Hooch was arguably the first artist to sanctify these passing moments among the Dutch housewives and maidservants of a prosperous but unsettled time.
    — B.t. | Delft, The Economist, 16 Oct. 2019
  • Contrary to many social mores, milah and niddah attempt to sanctify life, even in the most powerful and intimate realms.
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 28 Mar. 2022
  • Did this reversal of reproduction sanctify the event or displace it?
    — Namwali Serpell, Harper's Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
  • But this second single was his debut album’s title track, as well as its opening song, and the moment where the New George was properly solidified -- and sanctified, too.
    — Jude Rogers, Billboard, 26 Oct. 2017
  • Though Barbara is the sympathetic center of the story, she is not sanctified, nor is Ron merely a caricature of thuggishness.
    — New York Times, 27 June 2019
  • The radicals and socialists had done much of the heavy lifting to establish the legitimacy of these new governments, and sanctified the revolution with their own blood.
    — James Robins, The New Republic, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Then wayward Diana appeared, shielded by stardom and sanctified by early death.
    — Anna Mundow, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2018
  • But June 17th is not sanctified in political memory, and the Egyptian state media didn’t mention the coincidence of Morsi dying on this date.
    — Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 19 June 2019
  • Since Judaism views human passions as God’s gifts to us, the halakha is meant in part as a mechanism to sanctify these passions, allowing us to better appreciate and find greater meaning in life itself.
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 19 Aug. 2019
  • Whereas America had a vigorous debate around the Iran deal, European elites sanctified it, and the Obama administration praised them for it.
    — Michael Doran and, WSJ, 17 June 2018
  • And then there are chapters where the characters find themselves in extraordinary circumstances — throwing caution to the wind, their lives sanctified or ruined by passion.
    — Darren Franich, EW.com, 15 Nov. 2019
  • However, many people have gone too far in sanctifying this advancement.
    — Igor Ryabenkiy, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sanctify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: