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baptism

noun

Simple meaning

A similar ceremony of initiation, purification or naming.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

baptihzuhm

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbæptɪzəm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A similar ceremony of initiation, purification or naming.

  2. philosophy

    The moment at which an object is first assigned a proper name.

  3. christianity

    A Christian sacrament, by which one is received into a church and sometimes given a name, generally involving the candidate to be anointed with or submerged in water.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A similar ceremony of initiation, purification or naming.

Used this way, baptism is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Formal and ceremonial
Usage feel
Formal and precise

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use baptism

  • “Most churches baptize infants but some insist on adult baptism.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

infant baptismchristian baptismholy baptismwater baptism

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • baptistnounPerson or profession

    Follower of Baptistic doctrines.

  • baptizedadjectiveDerived adjective

    Having undergone the Christian ritual of baptism.

  • baptisedadjectiveDerived adjective

    Having undergone the Christian ritual of baptism.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • baptismaladjectiveRelated term

    Of or relating to baptism.

  • baptist churchnounRelated term

    Any of various evangelical Protestant churches that believe in the baptism of voluntary believers.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.