bless

bless — verb

1. to speak holy words over a person or thing, asking God to watch over it, or to s

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to speak holy words over a person or thing, asking God to watch over it, or to set it apart as sacred through prayer or a religious sign.

Example

The priest blessed the baby's head before the family left the church.

bless + person in a religious ceremony

At sunrise, Grandma Rosa blessed the bread and shared it with neighbors.

bless + food/object

Common collocations
  • bless a child
  • bless the food
  • bless the house
  • bless the land
Synonyms
  • consecrate

    more formal and usually used for officially making a place or object sacred

  • hallow

    old-fashioned or literary, often found in prayers

  • sanctify

    formal and often used in theological writing

Antonyms
  • curse

    means to call for harm instead of protection or holiness

Grammar Patterns

bless somebody/something

bless something with a prayer

Usage Note

Most often used with a priest, pastor, imam, or family elder as the subject. The object is usually a person, home, meal, or other thing receiving holy protection, and the passive is common after ceremonies.

Common Mistakes

The priest prayed the baby before the trip.
The priest blessed the baby before the trip.
'pray' does not take the person directly in this meaning.
The pastor blessed for our house.
The pastor blessed our house.
this sense normally takes a direct object without 'for'.

2. to give someone or something a specially good quality, happy experience, or luck

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to give someone or something a specially good quality, happy experience, or lucky condition, or to have such a thing in your life.

Example

Priya was blessed with a calm voice and quick hands in the kitchen.

usual pattern: be blessed with + quality

After years of drought, the valley was blessed with steady rain.

be blessed with + helpful condition

Common collocations
  • blessed with talent
  • blessed with good health
  • blessed with rain
  • blessed with patient parents
Synonyms
  • endow

    more formal; often used for natural ability or money given to an institution

  • favor

    often suggests luck or support from fate, weather, or a powerful person

  • gift

    focuses on giving a special ability, especially in literary language

  • enrich

    stresses making life better, fuller, or more valuable

Antonyms
  • deprive

    means to take a good thing away

  • burden

    means to place a difficult load instead of a benefit

Grammar Patterns

be blessed with something/somebody

bless somebody/something with something

Usage Note

Usually appears in the passive with 'with' before the good thing received. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense does not need an explicit religious act, even if the speaker feels grateful in a spiritual way.

Common Mistakes

She was blessed by a beautiful voice.
She was blessed with a beautiful voice.
use 'with' before the good quality.
The town blessed with clean air.
The town was blessed with clean air.
this pattern is usually passive.

3. to speak of God as holy and great, especially in prayer, song, or other religiou

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to speak of God as holy and great, especially in prayer, song, or other religious language.

Example

The choir blessed God for bringing the fishermen home safely.

bless God for + reason

In the evening prayer, the monks blessed the Lord together.

formal religious language: bless the Lord

Common collocations
  • bless God
  • bless the Lord
  • bless God's name
Synonyms
  • praise

    the broad everyday word, not limited to religion

  • glorify

    more formal and stresses declaring greatness

  • worship

    broader than this sense because it includes acts as well as words

Antonyms
  • blaspheme

    means to speak of God in a way believers consider insulting

Grammar Patterns

bless God

bless the Lord

Usage Note

Restricted to formal religious language. Distinguish from sense 1: here God is the one receiving praise, not the one being asked to protect somebody or something.

Common Mistakes

We blessed to God in the song.
We blessed God in the song.
this sense takes God directly as the object.
The priest blessed God the baby.
The priest blessed God, then blessed the baby.
sense 3 and sense 1 use different objects.
Idioms

be blessed with something/somebody

idiom

to have a person, skill, or situation that makes your life especially good.

Theo is blessed with patient parents who listen to every worry.

The island is blessed with warm water and quiet beaches.

bless you

idiom

said after someone sneezes as a polite wish that they stay well.

After Ravi sneezed during dinner, Aunt Mabel smiled and said, 'Bless you.'

The librarian whispered 'Bless you' when the boy sneezed beside the history shelf.

bless you, her, him, etc.

idiom

said after naming someone to show warm affection or approval for what they did.

Nadia, bless her, carried soup upstairs when I was sick.

Old Mr. Evans, bless him, still walks the twins home.

God bless

idiom

used when saying goodbye to express a wish that the other person stays safe and well.

Grandpa kissed the boys goodnight and said, 'God bless.'

At the station, Sister Agnes waved and called, 'God bless, dear.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

For verb/2, 'bless' suggests receiving something deeply good, often with a feeling of gratitude and sometimes a quiet religious tone: 'She was blessed with patience.' 'Endow' is more formal and is common for natural gifts or money given to an institution: 'He was endowed with musical skill.' 'Favor' often points to luck, weather, or a powerful force giving one side an advantage: 'Dry weather favored the farmers.' 'Reward' is different because it usually links the good result to an action or effort: 'Years of study rewarded her with a strong job offer.' So talent may bless or endow you, weather may favor you, and hard work may reward you.

bless ↗endowfavor ↗reward ↗

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Bless comes from Old English 'bletsian', an early religious verb. It is probably linked to an older Germanic word connected with blood, because some ancient rites marked people or objects with blood when setting them apart for sacred use. In Christian English, the word later came to mean speaking holy words over someone, asking God to protect them, or thanking and praising God.