as in to sanctify
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Recent Examples of spiritualize
None of this is intended to take away from the ambivalent and sometimes plainly harmful effects of attempts to spiritualize the pandemic.
—
Benjamin Kirby, Quartz Africa, 1 May 2020
Thought and speech — thought’s public projection — are both combined and spiritualized.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 22 June 2019
The biblical Song of Solomon is a key scripture for the Zohar, and its lush gardens of desire are spiritualized into realms of sacred love, but without losing anything of their erotic passion.
—Arthur Green, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2017
Benjamin Kirby, Quartz Africa, 1 May 2020
Thought and speech — thought’s public projection — are both combined and spiritualized.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 22 June 2019
The biblical Song of Solomon is a key scripture for the Zohar, and its lush gardens of desire are spiritualized into realms of sacred love, but without losing anything of their erotic passion.
—Arthur Green, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritualize
Verb
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But months later, the campaign to sanctify Kirk appears to have backfired in some ways.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
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An overexposed photo shows Miralba from the torso up, looking into a white sky, with a ray of light almost sanctifying her face.—
Camila Osorio,
New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cillíní were reserved for babies who were stillborn, miscarried, or died at birth without having been baptized.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Feb. 2026
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Many parishioners live within walking distance of their churches and generations of West Siders have been baptized and married under their roofs.—
Dan Horn,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even if all these sunny promises are enshrined in contracts, built into budgets, and consecrated with good intentions, there are still plenty of ways the whole project could go kerflooey.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
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The ashes are consecrated with holy water and incense before being administered.—
Catherine Messier,
The Providence Journal,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The coronation merely confirms and sacralizes his inheritance.—
Matt Ford,
The New Republic,
5 May 2023
Verb
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But all of those religions are teaching us how to purify our minds and become a good person in our society.—
Meagan Jordan,
Rolling Stone,
8 Feb. 2026
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On the nuclear issue, a key point of contention remains Iran’s demand to enrich uranium – a nuclear fuel that can be used to make a bomb if purified to high levels – which the US and its allies reject.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When one heart is cleansed, the vibration of wholeness ripples outward.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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The idea of a tube up my tuchus didn’t scare me, nor did the notorious prep of drinking a foul-tasting liquid to cleanse your intestinal tract.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His high-end ability has materialized in moments far more consequential than the two-month window of regular-season games used to canonize All-Stars.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
15 Feb. 2026
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One of the most iconic couples of the 1990s, Carolyn and John’s place in Kennedy history was canonized by their untimely death by plane crash in 1999.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Yet, these grounds were hallowed to the African American community.—
Chip Colwell,
The Conversation,
22 Oct. 2025
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In a new political environment in which none of the new leaders could claim to be revolutionary founding fathers, Deng’s blessing hallowed Jiang and Hu and helped ensure that each survived the vicissitudes of succession politics.—
Jonathan A. Czin,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiritualize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritualize. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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