hymn
1 of 2noun
ˈhim 
1
a
: a song of praise to God
sing a hymn of thanksgiving
b
: a metrical composition adapted for singing in a religious service
a book of hymns
2
: a song of praise or joy
in jolly hymns they praise the god of wine
John Dryden
John Dryden3
: something resembling a song of praise : paean
The novel is a hymn to childhood and innocence.
hymnlike
ˈhim-ˌlīk
adjective hymn
2 of 2verb
hymned ˈhimd ; hymning ˈhi-miŋ
; hymning ˈhi-miŋ transitive verb
: to praise or worship in or as if in hymns (see hymn entry 1)
the heroes who are hymned in this book
intransitive verb
: to sing a song that praises God : to sing a hymn
listening to the choir hymn
Synonyms
Noun
- anthem
- canticle
- carol
- chorale
- psalm
- spiritual
Verb
- bless
- carol
- celebrate
- emblazon
- exalt
- extol
- extoll
- glorify
- laud
- magnify
- praise
- resound
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun sing a hymn of praise our Sunday church services always open with a hymn Verb during the honeymoon following the inauguration, newspaper articles seemed to hymn the president's every move
Recent Examples on the Web Jeneé Osterheldt, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2022 Tice was among the hymn writers Sensmeier worked with at GIA. San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022 Most startling, Box added, was the way the old massive concrete structure swayed during the war hymn. Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Aug. 2022 The Athenians even ended up addressing Demetrius as a living god in a special hymn, calling him the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite. Charlotte Dunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Aug. 2022 For those attuned to perceive it, the great weight of this knowledge comes to rest within a wordless contemplative space, making the heart tremble as readily as any sermon or hymn. Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 July 2022 Devoted Seventh-day Adventists, the family held hands and began to sing a hymn. Kiera Feldmanstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 The congregation will sing a hymn that was chosen by Prince Philip to be played at his funeral. Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, 28 Mar. 2022 The main festivity is the performance of a Te Dum, a Latin Christian hymn, at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, an event typically attended by the royal family. Emily Burack, Town & Country, 21 July 2022 Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 17 Aug. 2022 But this wasn’t a flattening of hierarchies of the sort long hymned in Silicon Valley reveries of the online demos. Nathaniel Friedman, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2019 Rogers was a benevolent, ditty-dispensing educator in civic virtue and human tolerance, who hymned the miracles of beautiful days and kindly friends, while acknowledging the fallibility of us all. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2019 But the wounds sustained and inflicted by cheating hearts, so often hymned by Nashville balladeers, are a specialty of Mr. Lonergan. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2016 See More
Noun
The Williams sisters, with the click-and-clack hymn of their beads swinging from their hair? Jeneé Osterheldt, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2022 Tice was among the hymn writers Sensmeier worked with at GIA. San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022 Most startling, Box added, was the way the old massive concrete structure swayed during the war hymn. Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Aug. 2022 The Athenians even ended up addressing Demetrius as a living god in a special hymn, calling him the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite. Charlotte Dunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Aug. 2022 For those attuned to perceive it, the great weight of this knowledge comes to rest within a wordless contemplative space, making the heart tremble as readily as any sermon or hymn. Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 July 2022 Devoted Seventh-day Adventists, the family held hands and began to sing a hymn. Kiera Feldmanstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 The congregation will sing a hymn that was chosen by Prince Philip to be played at his funeral. Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, 28 Mar. 2022 The main festivity is the performance of a Te Dum, a Latin Christian hymn, at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, an event typically attended by the royal family. Emily Burack, Town & Country, 21 July 2022 Verb
Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 17 Aug. 2022 But this wasn’t a flattening of hierarchies of the sort long hymned in Silicon Valley reveries of the online demos. Nathaniel Friedman, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2019 Rogers was a benevolent, ditty-dispensing educator in civic virtue and human tolerance, who hymned the miracles of beautiful days and kindly friends, while acknowledging the fallibility of us all. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2019 But the wounds sustained and inflicted by cheating hearts, so often hymned by Nashville balladeers, are a specialty of Mr. Lonergan. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2016 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English ymne, from Old English ymen, from Latin hymnus song of praise, from Greek hymnos
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1667, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Kids Definition
hymn
noun
ˈhim
: a song of praise especially to God
hymned
verb
as in praised
to proclaim the glory of during the honeymoon following the inauguration, newspaper articles seemed to hymn the president's every move Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- praised
- celebrated
- blessed
- extolled
- worshipped
- carolled
- exalted
- worshiped
- lauded
- saluted
- blest
- resounded
- emblazoned
- caroled
- applauded
- hailed
- rhapsodized
- cheered
- glorified
- eulogized
- idolized
- deified
- magnified
- cited
- commended
- chanted
- acclaimed
- renowned
- complimented
- adored
- belauded
- recommended
- touted
- flattered
- cracked up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- blamed
- reprobated
- criticized
- censured
- chided
- reprehended
- reproached
- admonished
- reproved
- rebuked
- castigated
- lambasted
- reprimanded
- chid
- keelhauled