veneration

[ ven-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of venerating.
2. the state of being venerated.
3. the feeling of a person who venerates; a feeling of awe, respect, etc.; reverence:

   They were filled with veneration for their priests.

   Antonyms: disrespect

4. an expression of this feeling:

   A memorial was erected in veneration of the dead of both world wars.

veneration

/ ˌvɛnəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. a feeling or expression of awe or reverence
2. the act of venerating or the state of being venerated

Derived Forms

• ˌvenerˈational, adjective
• ˈvenerativeness, noun

Other Words From

• vener·ation·al vener·ative adjective
• vener·ative·ly adverb
• vener·ative·ness noun
• un·vener·ative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of veneration¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin venerātiōn- (stem of venerātiō ), equivalent to venerāt ( us ) ( venerate ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonym Study

See respect.

Example Sentences

“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom—rendering them unavoidable—unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the parents wrote in their court filing.

From Salon

I realized that I didn’t know much about how the religion honors the fall aside from Rosh Hashana, a veneration of the harvest marking the Jewish new year, followed by the High Holy days.

From Los Angeles Times

Putin tried to cast Ukraine’s veneration of some of its nationalist leaders who cooperated with the Nazis in World War II as a sign of Kyiv’s purported Nazi sympathies.

From Seattle Times

This slightly dry introductory display gives way to a series of rooms that focus on the art of the Olympics: a mix of antique veneration and turn-of-the-century innovation.

From New York Times

Ellen Bernstein, a river guide turned rabbi who blazed a spiritual trail in the environmental movement by undergirding it with the Hebrew Bible’s veneration of nature, died on Feb. 27 in Philadelphia.

From New York Times

Related Words

• adoration
• reverence