bless
bless Lexical Profile
bless Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To confer or invoke divine favor, protection, or spiritual well-being upon a person or thing.
"The priest raised his hand to bless the congregation at the end of the service."
To endow or bestow upon someone a valued quality, talent, or fortunate circumstance (usually used in the passive voice).
"The region is blessed with fertile soil and a mild climate."
To consecrate or make holy by means of a religious rite or prayer.
"It is a local tradition to bless the fishing fleet before the start of the season."
To give official approval, sanction, or support to a plan or action.
"The committee refused to bless the merger until all financial audits were complete."
To praise, glorify, or express fervent gratitude toward God or a revered person.
"They gathered to bless the memory of the founders who built the hospital."
Word Nuance & Usage
The regular past tense and past participle is 'blessed', though 'blest' survives in poetic or liturgical usage. When used as an adjective (as in 'the Blessed Virgin'), 'blessed' is often pronounced with two syllables (/ˈblɛsɪd/).
• Rhymes for bless
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'blētsian', meaning to consecrate with blood or mark with blood during a pagan sacrifice, derived from Proto-Germanic *blōþisōjanan (from *blōþan, meaning 'blood'). It was later adopted by Christian translators to render Latin 'benedicere'.