blessed

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Lucky or fortunate to have something good, such as talent or a loving family.

   Grammar: Often followed by with: blessed with good health.

   Patterns

   • be blessed with something
   • feel blessed

   She is blessed with a wonderful sense of humor.

   We feel blessed to live near the sea.

   The region is blessed with fertile soil.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounreligion

   Made holy by a priest or religious ceremony, or treated as sacred.

   Grammar: Often before a title or noun: the Blessed Virgin.

   Patterns

   • the Blessed + title
   • a blessed event

   The priest sprinkled the blessed water over the congregation.

   They knelt before the blessed sacrament.

   Pilgrims visited the Blessed shrine.

3. 3adjectivebefore a nounliterary

   Giving great comfort or relief, as in blessed silence.

   Grammar: Used before nouns like silence or relief; the stress is on the first syllable.

   Patterns

   • blessed relief
   • blessed silence

   The rain brought blessed relief from the heat.

   After the noisy party came blessed silence.

   He enjoyed a blessed hour of rest.

4. 4adjectivebefore a nounold-fashionedinformal

   Used to show annoyance, in the sense of damned or confounded.

   Grammar: Dated and humorous: not a blessed thing.

   Patterns

   • every blessed day
   • not a blessed thing

   I did not hear a blessed word of the speech.

   He rings me every blessed day.

   There is not a blessed thing to do here.

Word forms

Common combinations

blessed with

They were blessed with three healthy children.

feel blessed

I feel blessed to have such good friends.

blessed relief

The cool breeze was a blessed relief.

blessed silence

We enjoyed blessed silence once the children fell asleep.

count your blessings

When things go wrong, try to count your blessings.

Synonyms and how they differ

fortunate

Fortunate is neutral and secular, while blessed suggests the good luck feels like a gift.

lucky

Lucky points to chance, but blessed hints at gratitude or divine favor.

holy

Holy describes something sacred, while blessed can be made holy by a ceremony.

sacred

Sacred describes something treated with religious respect, whereas blessed can be a casual word for happy or lucky.

Opposites

Word family

bless verb

to ask for divine favor, or to make holy

blessing noun

something that brings good fortune, or a prayer for favor

blessedness noun

the state of being happy or holy

unblessed adjective

not blessed

Commonly confused: blessed or blest?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “blessed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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