What does "chapel" mean?
A place of worship, smaller than or subordinate to a church.
Chapel
/ˈt͡ʃæp.əl/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A place of worship, smaller than or subordinate to a church.
- Grammar: chapel is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: amphitheater, arena, assembly hall, auditorium.
- Useful contrasts: basilicas, cathedrals, duomo.
- Usage evidence: So that Michelangelo might paint certain figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, so that Shakespeare might write certain speeches and Keats his poems, it seemed to me worthwhile that countless millions should have lived and suffered and died.
How to use "chapel"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "chapel" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "chapel" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "chapel" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "chapel" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "chapel" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "amphitheater" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "chapel", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A place of worship, smaller than or subordinate to a church. especially
- 2 a service conducted in a place of worship that has its own altar wordnet
- 3 A place of worship in another building or within a civil institution such as a larger church, airport, prison, monastery, school, etc.; often primarily for private prayer.
"One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”"
- 4 a place of worship that has its own altar wordnet
- 5 A place of worship of a denomination not in conformity with the Church of England, usually Protestant; for example, of Nonconformist or Dissenter congregations. UK
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A funeral home, or a room in one for holding funeral services.
- 7 A trade union branch in printing or journalism. UK
- 8 A printing office.
- 9 A choir of singers, or an orchestra, attached to the court of a prince or nobleman.
Verb
- 1 To cause (a ship taken aback in a light breeze) to turn or make a circuit so as to recover, without bracing the yards, the same tack on which she had been sailing. transitive
- 2 To deposit or inter in a chapel; to enshrine. obsolete, transitive
"give us the bones Of our dead kings, that we may chapel them!"
Adjective
- 1 Describing a person who attends a nonconformist chapel. Wales, not-comparable
"The village butcher is chapel."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"So that Michelangelo might paint certain figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, so that Shakespeare might write certain speeches and Keats his poems, it seemed to me worthwhile that countless millions should have lived and suffered and died."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "chapel"?
Common synonyms include: amphitheater, arena, assembly hall, auditorium, chantry, chapel of ease.
How do you use "chapel" in a sentence?
So that Michelangelo might paint certain figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, so that Shakespeare might write certain speeches and Keats his poems, it seemed to me worthwhile that countless millions should have lived and suffered and died.
How do you pronounce "chapel"?
Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃæp.əl/.
Etymology
From Middle English chapele, chapel, from Old French chapele, from Late Latin cappella (“little cloak; chapel”), diminutive of cappa (“cloak, cape”). Doublet of capelle. (printing office): Said to be because printing was first carried on in England in a chapel near Westminster Abbey.