Meaning & use
prays
Last updated
“prays” is a form of “pray”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitivereligion
Speaks to God or a spiritual being, to give thanks, ask for help or show devotion.
Grammar: Often with to or for: she prays to God, he prays for peace.
Patterns
- prays to someone
- prays for something
She prays every morning before breakfast.
He prays to God for his family's safety.
The old man prays at the church each Sunday.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
Hopes very strongly that something will happen.
Grammar: Often followed by that or for: she prays that it will not rain.
Patterns
- prays for something
- prays that something happens
She prays that the test results come back clear.
Every farmer prays for rain in a dry summer.
He prays the car will start in the cold.
Word forms
| base form | pray |
|---|---|
| past tense | prayed |
| past participle | prayed |
| -ing form | praying |
Common combinations
- prays for peace
- The community prays for peace every week.
- prays to God
- She prays to God when she is afraid.
- prays silently
- He prays silently in the back row.
- prays for rain
- Each farmer prays for rain.
- prays for guidance
- The leader prays for guidance before voting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worships
- Worships describes honoring God in a broader way, often in a group, whereas prays is speaking or asking.
- begs
- Begs is more desperate and can be addressed to anyone, while prays is mainly spiritual.
- hopes
- Hopes is milder and not religious, so prays suggests stronger feeling.
- meditates
- Meditates focuses on silent thought and may involve no deity, unlike prays.
Word family
Commonly confused: prays or preys? prays or praise?
prays vs preys
Preys is from prey on, to hunt and eat, as in a hawk preys on mice. It sounds the same as prays but means something different.
prays vs praise
Praise means to say good things about someone, and is spelled differently from prays.
Practice
The lion ______ on young antelope, but my grandmother ______ for peace.
Choose one answer.
Preys on means hunts, and prays means speaks to God. The other pairs swap the words or use the wrong word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prays”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.