Canonises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To formally acknowledge an individual as a saint within a religious tradition, to designate someone as deserving of honor and reverence, and to authenticate a person's holiness within spiritual practices
2. To officially recognize someone as a saint in a religious context
3. To make a formal declaration that a person is holy and worthy of veneration

Etymology: "Canonises" is the third-person singular form of "canonise", so it is the verb's present-tense form that goes with "he", "she" or "it". The verb itself is built from "canon", a word that goes back to a Greek term for a measuring rod or straight edge, which came to mean a rule or standard, and then, in church usage, an official list. To canonise someone is to place them on that list of recognised saints, so the verb carries the sense of formally entering a person into a register of holy figures. The "-ise" ending is the familiar Greek-derived verb suffix, the same one found in words like "baptise" and "civilise," which turns a noun into an action. Put the two parts together and "canonise" means, quite literally, to make someone a matter of the church's official rule or list. The spelling "canonize" with a "z" is the American variant of the same verb.

Synonyms: sanctifies, blesses, consecrates, declares, proclaims

Antonyms: denounces, censures, condemns, disparages, criticizes