ordination
noun
Simple meaning
The act of ordaining.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awrduhnayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɔɹdəˈneɪʃən
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
The act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders
“The rabbi's family was present for his ordination.”
The act of ordaining or the state of being ordained.
The status of being ordained to a sacred office
buddhism
The ceremony in which a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni is ordained into the sangha
christianity
The ceremony in which a priest is consecrated, considered a sacrament in the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders
Used this way, ordination is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The rabbi's family was present for his ordination.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- 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 ordination
- “The rabbi's family was present for his ordination.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An authoritative rule.
Not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree.
Related to The act of ordaining.
Under normal conditions.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “ordination” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
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.
