god-given

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   given by God; natural and not earned or learned.

   Grammar: Used before a noun: a god-given talent. It is not usually used after a verb.

   Patterns

   • a god-given talent
   • a god-given right
   • a god-given gift

   She has a god-given talent for making people feel at ease.

   He believes that freedom of speech is a god-given right.

   The team's success came from hard work, not from any god-given advantage.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounliterary

   seeming to come from God; wonderful and beyond human explanation.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, often in religious or poetic writing: god-given peace.

   Patterns

   • god-given peace
   • god-given wisdom

   The monks spoke of a god-given peace that filled the valley.

   They saw the rescue as a god-given sign.

Common combinations

a god-given talent

His god-given talent for music was clear from the age of five.

a god-given right

Some people argue that privacy is a god-given right.

a god-given gift

She treated her ability to heal as a god-given gift.

take something as god-given

We should not take clean water as god-given; it takes work to supply.

Synonyms and how they differ

innate

Innate means present from birth and is more neutral and scientific; god-given adds a religious or admiring tone.

natural

Natural simply means not learned or artificial; god-given suggests a divine source.

heaven-sent

Heaven-sent means arriving at exactly the right time and is more about luck than about ability.

Opposites

Word family

God proper noun

The being worshipped in many religions; the source of what is god-given.

godly adjective

Devout and religious; describes a person, not a talent.

Commonly confused: god-given or God-fearing?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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