sanctify Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb render holy by means of religious rites
    bless; consecrate; hallow.
  2. verb make pure or free from sin or guilt
    purge; purify.
    • he left the monastery purified

WordNet


Sanc"ti*fy transitive verb
Etymology
F. sanctifier, L. sanctificare; sanctus holy + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Saint, and -fy.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Sanctified ; present participle & verbal noun Sanctifying
Definitions
  1. To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow.
    God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Gen. ii. 3.
    Moses . . . sanctified Aaron and his garnment. Lev. viii. 30.
  2. To make free from sin; to cleanse from moral corruption and pollution; to purify.
    Sanctify them through thy truth. John xvii. 17.
  3. To make efficient as the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.
    A means which his mercy hath sanctified so to me as to make me repent of that unjust act. Eikon Basilike.
  4. To impart or impute sacredness, venerableness, inviolability, title to reverence and respect, or the like, to; to secure from violation; to give sanction to.
    The holy man, amazed at what he saw, Made haste to sanctify the bliss by law. Dryden.
    Truth guards the poet, sanctifies the line. Pope.

Webster 1913