adjective
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canonized
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like a saint in character or nature
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hallowed or holy
Other Word Forms
- unsainted adjective
Etymology
Origin of sainted
Explanation
Describing someone as sainted means they're almost unbelievably good and honorable. Everyone adored your sainted grandmother, who was kind to every single person she ever met. You can use this adjective in a very literal way, to describe people who have been canonized as saints by the Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Church. The sainted figure of Mother Theresa is one example. But living people who are admired for being extremely virtuous can also be described this way: "My sainted English teacher is beloved by all her students."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cheering would have been the sainted Leon Panetta, former congressman, defense secretary and CIA chief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
In his travels, Tocqueville saw pieces of the famous Plymouth Rock all over: used as doorstops, as paperweights, set in the centers of mantels like the mandibles of sainted martyrs.
From Slate • Nov. 28, 2024
Even the sainted John McCain and Ronald Reagan failed in their first attempts.
From Salon • Sep. 13, 2024
The sainted man kindly directed my husband to a urinal and then escorted him outside, handing me his clothing with sympathy and obvious relief.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2021
Water Island is supposed to be a part of the United States Virgin Islands, but we were never sainted like Saint Thomas or Saint John or Saint Croix, and so everyone forgets we exist.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
