bless

/bles/ (bre, ipa) · /bles/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbles/ (ame, mw)

bless — verb

1. to speak holy words over a person or thing, asking God to watch over it, or to s

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to speak holy words over a person or thing, asking God to watch over it, or to set it apart as sacred through prayer or a religious sign.

例句

The priest blessed the baby's head before the family left the church.

bless + person in a religious ceremony

At sunrise, Grandma Rosa blessed the bread and shared it with neighbors.

bless + food/object

同義詞
  • consecrate

    more formal and usually used for officially making a place or object sacred

  • hallow

    old-fashioned or literary, often found in prayers

  • sanctify

    formal and often used in theological writing

反義詞
  • curse

    means to call for harm instead of protection or holiness

文法句型

bless somebody/something

bless something with a prayer

用法筆記

Most often used with a priest, pastor, imam, or family elder as the subject. The object is usually a person, home, meal, or other thing receiving holy protection, and the passive is common after ceremonies.

常見錯誤

❌The priest prayed the baby before the trip.
✅The priest blessed the baby before the trip.
💡'pray' does not take the person directly in this meaning.
❌The pastor blessed for our house.
✅The pastor blessed our house.
💡this sense normally takes a direct object without 'for'.

2. to give someone or something a specially good quality, happy experience, or luck

2.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

to give someone or something a specially good quality, happy experience, or lucky condition, or to have such a thing in your life.

例句

Priya was blessed with a calm voice and quick hands in the kitchen.

usual pattern: be blessed with + quality

After years of drought, the valley was blessed with steady rain.

be blessed with + helpful condition

同義詞
  • endow

    more formal; often used for natural ability or money given to an institution

  • favor

    often suggests luck or support from fate, weather, or a powerful person

  • gift

    focuses on giving a special ability, especially in literary language

  • enrich

    stresses making life better, fuller, or more valuable

反義詞
  • deprive

    means to take a good thing away

  • burden

    means to place a difficult load instead of a benefit

文法句型

be blessed with something/somebody

bless somebody/something with something

用法筆記

Usually appears in the passive with 'with' before the good thing received. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense does not need an explicit religious act, even if the speaker feels grateful in a spiritual way.

常見錯誤

❌She was blessed by a beautiful voice.
✅She was blessed with a beautiful voice.
💡use 'with' before the good quality.
❌The town blessed with clean air.
✅The town was blessed with clean air.
💡this pattern is usually passive.

3. to speak of God as holy and great, especially in prayer, song, or other religiou

3.動詞及物C1
釋義

to speak of God as holy and great, especially in prayer, song, or other religious language.

例句

The choir blessed God for bringing the fishermen home safely.

bless God for + reason

In the evening prayer, the monks blessed the Lord together.

formal religious language: bless the Lord

同義詞
  • praise

    the broad everyday word, not limited to religion

  • glorify

    more formal and stresses declaring greatness

  • worship

    broader than this sense because it includes acts as well as words

反義詞
  • blaspheme

    means to speak of God in a way believers consider insulting

文法句型

bless God

bless the Lord

用法筆記

Restricted to formal religious language. Distinguish from sense 1: here God is the one receiving praise, not the one being asked to protect somebody or something.

常見錯誤

❌We blessed to God in the song.
✅We blessed God in the song.
💡this sense takes God directly as the object.
❌The priest blessed God the baby.
✅The priest blessed God, then blessed the baby.
💡sense 3 and sense 1 use different objects.