dedicate
/ˈdɛdɪkeɪt
/verb [with object] (often dedicate something to)
1Devote (time or effort) to a particular task or purpose: Joan has dedicated her life to animals...
- For the moment, however, she says the group are purely dedicating their efforts to putting together a solid outline proposal for the area, before they begin their investigations for funding.
- Since last October, the students have been dedicating themselves to the task of mounting the enduringly popular Guys and Dolls.
- I met many people who dedicated much of their efforts to assist in the planning of the anti-hate demonstration.
Synonyms
devote, commit, pledge, bind, obligate, give, give over, surrender, set aside, allot, allocate, consign, sacrifice
1.1Devote (something) to a particular subject: volume four is dedicated to wasps...
- Entire magazines are dedicated to the subject of teen boys' haircuts.
- For example, your website is dedicated to the general subject of ‘cat care.’
- The third section of the catalog is dedicated to the subject of icons in various media, from panel paintings to textiles.
1.2Cite or nominate (a book or other artistic work) as being issued or performed in someone’s honour: the novel is dedicated to the memory of my mother...
- All the poems in the book are dedicated to his memory.
- At least a third of the book is dedicated to memories of his dad.
- The book is dedicated to the memory of Maura Burns of Ferrybank who recently passed away.
Synonyms
inscribe, address, name;
assign, offer
1.3Formally open or unveil (a building or monument): today the President dedicates the new Second World War memorial in Washington...
- The building was formally opened and dedicated by the Bishop of Ramsbury, The Right Rev Peter Hullah, with another 150 guests joining the 500 schoolchildren.
- Hampton's new 36,000-square-foot facility was formally dedicated on Sept.23.
- This decision to sell the temple was not publicly made known until the building was finally completed and formally dedicated on 1 May 1846.
1.4Ceremonially assign (a church or other building) to a deity or saint: the parish church is dedicated to St Paul...
- The Chupao Temple is dedicated to a life-saving deity known as Paosheng.
- Churches were increasingly dedicated to, and children named after, universal saints.
- I recall visiting Calvin's church in Geneva, a twelfth-century Romanesque building dedicated to Saint Peter.
Synonyms
devote, assign;
bless, consecrate, sanctify, hallow, make holy, make sacred
Derivatives
dedicatee
/ noun ...- Alfred Schnittke's First Cello Concerto is surely one major candidate, first performed by the orchestra in 1991 and again on this occasion by the work's dedicatee, Natalia Gutman.
- Many - including its dedicatee and first conductor, Hans Richter - considered not only the greatest English symphony to that point, but the greatest symphony of modern times.
- Throughout the volume, Lanyer lauds her primary dedicatee Margaret Clifford, the Countess of Cumberland, for her charity, piety, chastity, learning, and nobility.
dedicator
/ noun ...- Throughout its history Olympia attracted wealthy dedicators from the whole Greek world and beyond.
- Another find from this part of Corinth that might be relevant is the fluted poros shaft of the Archaic period inscribed with the name of the dedicator.
dedicatory
/ /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪtəri / adjective ...- Among them was a posthumous portrait statue of Nobunaga, which bears a dedicatory inscription dated 1583.
- I remember Martin loaning me a copy of The White Goddess, that first edition with the version of the dedicatory poem which I really liked extraordinarily.
- She also wished the table to include both her husband's coat of arms (he has a great interest in heraldry) and a dedicatory inscription to him that would mention their three children.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'devote to sacred use by solemn rites'): from Latin dedicat- 'devoted, consecrated', from the verb dedicare.