Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To celebrate or observe with dignity and gravity: synonym: observe.
- transitive verb To perform (a marriage, for example) with formal ceremony.
- transitive verb To make serious or grave.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To perform annually; perform as the year comes round.
- To honor by ceremonies; celebrate: as, to
solemnize the birth of Christ. - To perform with ritual ceremonies, or according to legal forms: used especially of marriage.
- To render solemn; make serious, grave, and reverential: as, to
solemnize the mind for the duties of the sanctuary. - Also spelled
solemnise . - noun Solemnization.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun rare Solemnization.
- transitive verb To perform with solemn or ritual ceremonies, or according to legal forms.
- transitive verb To dignify or honor by ceremonies; to celebrate.
- transitive verb To make grave, serious, and reverential.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, US To make
solemn , orofficial , throughceremony orlegal act.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb perform (the wedding ceremony) with proper ceremonies
- verb observe or perform with dignity or gravity
- verb make solemn and grave
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It is all so grotesque when one remembers how ready they are to 'solemnize' -- save the mark!
A Man and a Woman Stanley Waterloo 1879
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For the sake of every citizen, and most of all for the sake of the children, it should "solemnize" marriage, and should do so on the understanding -- clearly expressed -- that those who come to be married intend to be faithful to each other "as long as they both shall live."
Sex and Common-Sense 1916
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If those who are religious wish to do so, they can receive a civil union, then "solemnize" their union in a marriage within their religion.
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He needn't know when the old lady died, but it will kind of solemnize him. "
He Fell in Love with His Wife Edward Payson Roe 1863
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In the Diocese of New York, Bishop Mark Sisk said local priests could bless couples who marry elsewhere in a civil ceremony, but could not solemnize the marriages.
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Proposed marriage bills in Albany have stated that no clergyman or minister would be forced to solemnize a same-sex union.
Marriage Fight Turns to Religion Jacob Gershman 2011
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In the Diocese of New York, Bishop Mark Sisk said local priests could bless couples who marry elsewhere in a civil ceremony, but could not solemnize the marriages.
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The purpose of the oath and the bible is just to solemnize the occasion and remind the declarant of his obligation to tell the truth.
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The New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which includes four of the five states with gay marriage, issued a document stating that pastors can choose to solemnize same-sex marriages in individual churches that give their approval.
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The New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which includes four of the five states with gay marriage, issued a document stating that pastors can choose to solemnize same-sex marriages in individual churches that give their approval.
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