covenant
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A signed written agreement between two or more parties to perform some action.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhvuhnuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkʌvənənt
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action
A pact or binding agreement between two or more parties.
law
An agreement to do or not do a particular thing.
law
A promise, incidental to a deed or contract, either express or implied.
An incidental clause in an agreement.
verb
To enter into, or promise something by, a covenant.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · 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 signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action
Used this way, covenant is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use covenant
- “They covenanted with Judas for 30 pieces of silver.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Signed / pact
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
A failure of the seller's guarantee of good title.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: signed written agreement between two
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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.