Adjacent Words

Celebrate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CELEBRATE, v.t.
1. To praise; to extol; to commend; to give to; to make famous; as, to celebrate the name of the Most High.
The grave cannot celebrate thee. Isaiah 38.
2. To distinguish by solemn rites; to keep holy.
From even to even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath. Leviticus 23.
3. To honor or distinguish by ceremonies and marks of joy and respect; as, to celebrate the birth day of Washington; to celebrate a marriage.
4. To mention in a solemn manner, whether of joy or sorrow.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" [syn: observe, celebrate, keep]
2: have a celebration; "They were feting the patriarch of the family"; "After the exam, the students were celebrating" [syn: celebrate, fete]
3: assign great social importance to; "The film director was celebrated all over Hollywood"; "The tenor was lionized in Vienna" [syn: lionize, lionise, celebrate]

Merriam Webster's

verb (-brated; -brating) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin celebratus, past participle of celebrare to frequent, celebrate, from celebr-, celeber much frequented, famous; perhaps akin to Latin celer Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites <celebrate the mass> 2. a. to honor (as a holiday) especially by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business b. to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities or other deviation from routine 3. to hold up or play up for public notice <her poetry celebrates the glory of nature> intransitive verb 1. to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival 2. to observe a notable occasion with festivities Synonyms: see keep • celebration noun • celebrative adjective • celebrator noun • celebratory adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. mark (a festival or special event) with festivities etc. 2 tr. perform publicly and duly (a religious ceremony etc.). 3 a tr. officiate at (the Eucharist). b intr. officiate, esp. at the Eucharist. 4 intr. engage in festivities, usu. after a special event etc. 5 tr. (as celebrated adj.) publicly honoured, widely known. Derivatives: celebration n. celebrator n. celebratory adj. Etymology: L celebrare f. celeber -bris frequented, honoured

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Celebrate Cel"e*brate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Celebrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Celebrating.] [L. celebratus, p. p. of celebrare to frequent, to celebrate, fr. celeber famous.] 1. To extol or honor in a solemn manner; as, to celebrate the name of the Most High. 2. To honor by solemn rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly; to keep; as, to celebrate a birthday. From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath. --Lev. xxiii. 32. 3. To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to solemnize; to perform with appropriate rites; as, to celebrate a marriage. Syn: To commemorate; distinguish; honor. Usage: To Celebrate, Commemorate. We commemorate events which we desire to keep in remembrance, when we recall them by some special observace; as, to commemorate the death of our Savior. We celebrate by demonstrations of joy or solemnity or by appropriate ceremonies; as, to celebrate the birthday of our Independence. We are called upon to commemorate a revolution as surprising in its manner as happy in its consequences. --Atterbury. Earth, water, air, and fire, with feeling glee, Exult to celebrate thy festival. --Thomson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(celebrates, celebrating, celebrated) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you celebrate, you do something enjoyable because of a special occasion or to mark someone's success. I was in a mood to celebrate... Tom celebrated his 24th birthday two days ago. VERB: V, V n 2. If an organization or country is celebrating an anniversary, it has existed for that length of time and is doing something special because of it. The Society is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. VERB: V n 3. When priests celebrate Holy Communion or Mass, they officially perform the actions and ceremonies that are involved. Pope John Paul celebrated mass today in a city in central Poland. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sel'-e-brat: Of the three Hebrew words so rendered halal, "to praise" is preeminently significant. It is an onomatopoetic word meaning "to give a clear sharp sound," as word in vocal rejoicing, celebration. Its equivalent in Ethiopic is ellell, German hallen, English halloo, and appears in the great choral word Hallelujah of the Hebrew religion. Passing into Christian use it has become the term most expressive of majestic praise. Psalms 113-118 and 136 are called Hallel psalms. Found in Hezekiah's psalm of praise for his miraculous recovery: "Death cannot celebrate thee" (Isa 38:18). chaghagh, root meaning "to move in a circle" hence, "to keep a festival" by sacred leaping and dancing; "celebrate (the Revised Version (British and American) "keep") a feast" (Le 23:41); shabhath, "to rest," i.e. keep or observe a holy day; "celebrate (the Revised Version (British and American) "keep") your sabbath" (Le 23:32).

Dwight M. Pratt

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Praise, extol, laud, applaud, magnify, glorify, bless, commend, give praise to, make famous. 2. Commemorate, honor, keep, observe. 3. Solemnize, perform with due solemnities.

Moby Thesaurus

administer Communion, adulate, advertise, apotheosize, attend Communion, attend Mass, beat the drum, belaud, bepraise, blare, blare forth, blaze, blaze abroad, blazon, blazon about, bless, bless the Lord, blow the trumpet, blow up, boast of, brag about, broadcast, carouse, celebrate Mass, commemorate, communicate, consecrate, conventionalize, cry, cry out, cry up, cut loose, debauch, declaim, dedicate, deify, dignify, doxologize, dress ship, emblazon, eulogize, exalt, extol, fire a salute, flatter, formalize, glorify, glorify the Lord, hallow, hell around, herald, herald abroad, hero-worship, hold, hold jubilee, honor, hymn, idolize, jollify, jolly, jubilate, jubilize, keep, lark, laud, let go, let loose, let off steam, lionize, maffick, magnify, make merry, make much of, make whoopee, mark, memorialize, observe, overpraise, panegyrize, party, pay tribute, perform, porter aux nues, praise, praise God, proclaim, promulgate, publicize, puff, puff up, raise hell, receive the Sacrament, rejoice in, revel, ritualize, roister, salute, sanctify, see life, shout, signalize, sing praises, skylark, solemnize, solemnly mark, sound a fanfare, spree, step out, stylize, thunder, thunder forth, trumpet, trumpet forth, wanton, wassail, whoop it up