divine

1. adjective

1)

a divine being

Syn:

godly, angelic, seraphic, saintly, beatific; heavenly, celestial, supernal, holy

Ant:

mortal

2)

divine worship

Syn:

religious, holy, sacred, sanctified, consecrated, blessed, devotional

3) informal

this food is divine

See excellent

2. noun, dated

puritan divines

Syn:

theologian, clergyman, clergywoman, member of the clergy, churchman, churchwoman, cleric, minister, man/woman of the cloth, preacher, priest; informal reverend

3. verb

1)

Fergus divined how afraid she was

Syn:

guess, surmise, conjecture, deduce, infer; discern, intuit, perceive, recognize, see, realize, appreciate, understand, grasp, comprehend; informal figure (out), savvy

2)

they divined that this was an auspicious day

Syn:

foretell, predict, prophesy, forecast, foresee, prognosticate

See note at predict

••

divine, holy, sacred, hallowed, consecrated

Holy is the only one of these words associated with religion and worship that may be applied directly to the Supreme Being. Something that is holy is regarded with the highest reverence because of its connection with God or a god (Christmas is a holy day in the Christian calendar). Something that is sacred, on the other hand, is set apart as holy or is dedicated to some exalted purpose (sacred music) but may derive its holiness from a human source rather than from God (a sacred oath between brothers). In its strictest sense, divine means associated with or derived from God (the divine right of kings), but it has also been used to describe anything that is admirable or treasured (her wedding dress was divine). Hallowed and consecrated refer to what has been made sacred or holy, with hallowed connotating intrinsic holiness (they walked on hallowed ground) and consecrated meaning blessed by a formal rite or formally dedicated to some religious use (the old building had been consecrated as a church).