blessing 1 of 2

noun

ˈble-siŋ How to pronounce blessing (audio)
Definition of blessingnext
1
as in prayer
a prayer calling for divine care, protection, or favor that rabbi always ends the service with a short blessing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in benefit
something that provides happiness or does good for a person or thing winning the lottery shortly after being laid off was an unexpected blessing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in approval
an acceptance of something as satisfactory Mr. Roberts promptly gave his blessing to his daughter's choice of husband

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in consecration
the act of making something holy through religious ritual traditionally, worshippers kneel during the blessing of the communion wafers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

blessing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bless
1
as in consecrating
to make holy through prayers or ritual the priest blessed the water, thus allowing it to be used as holy water for various rites

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in celebrating
to proclaim the glory of bless the name of God

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in gifting
to furnish freely or naturally with some power, quality, or attribute blessed with a knack for glib conversation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blessing
Noun
In a unique adaptation of a traditional ceremony, the bridal party reinterpreted the seven blessings by reciting their own personalized blessing for the couple. — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 10 Aug. 2026 Skoronski, a Park Ridge native and an alumnus of Maine South and Northwestern, called the extension a tremendous blessing. — Teresa M. Walker, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Verb
This phenomenon is formally known as the photic sneeze reflex, or as an Autosomal Cholinergic Helio-Ophthalmologic Outburst — unofficially blessing it with the spectacular acronym ACHOO syndrome. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 Trump re-posted an image depicting Jesus blessing him, whcich was first posted by a right-wing Republican candidate for a Boston congressional seat. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for blessing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blessing
  1. prayer
  2. benefit
  3. approval
  4. consecration
  5. consecrating
  6. celebrating
  7. gifting
  8. petition
Noun
  • Thank you for your messages, your prayers, your encouragement, and for standing beside our team throughout these past weeks.
    — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Later winter sunrises could make morning prayers more difficult, particularly in parts of the Midwest and Mountain West.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of prayer
Noun
  • It’s made of wrinkle- and shrink-resistant Tencel fabric, which is beloved for its moisture-wicking and silky benefits.
    — Essence Wiley, InStyle, 8 Aug. 2026
  • His base salary was $118,356 in 2022, and his total pay and benefits were $155,776.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of benefit
Noun
  • Only one of them preserves the approval step, and the approval step is the point.
    — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Failing that, Zelenskyy wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or get approval from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit its missile launchers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of approval
Noun
  • These appointments distinguished the Kenyan church from many other GAFCON provinces where the consecration of women bishops remains controversial.
    — Stephanie TriplettAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Which is not to say that the Lido selection lacks luster or awards consecration potential.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 July 2026
Definition of consecration
Verb
  • But yesterday, the group defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his approval.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 July 2026
  • Under the church’s in-house canon law, consecrating a bishop without papal consent incurs an automatic excommunication for both the people administering the consecration and the bishops receiving it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of consecrating
Verb
  • Even when more than half the team was celebrating Brenden Aaronson’s equaliser with him, Trafford was taking that opportunity to pass on feedback to Bornauw and Ao Tanaka.
    — Beren Cross, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Pokemon costumes With Pokemon celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, Pikachu, Ash and other favorite characters make this nostalgic theme especially timely.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of celebrating
Verb
  • According to a press release, the gift was valued at more than $40 million and broke the record for the largest surprise audience gifting in live entertainment.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Once their spring blooms are complete, Aggrey meticulously collects the seed pods from the clarkias, gilias and phacelias, processes the seeds and packages them for gifting before the subsequent spring.
    — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of gifting
Noun
  • The petition was launched on Canada's parliamentary petitions portal, where citizens and residents of Canada can set up petitions to parliament.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But House Republican leader Vincent Candelora, who led the petition drive to defeat MacCormack, said fellow Republicans will continue to work against him.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of petition

Browse Nearby Words

blesses
blessing
blessings
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Blessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blessing. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on blessing

Nglish: Translation of blessing for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about blessing

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All