Solemnize

verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make solemn, or official, through ceremony or legal act. US, transitive

    "The couple chose to solemnize their relationship in a secular ceremony, instead of having a wedding."

  2. 2
    make solemn and grave wordnet
  3. 3
    To make grave, serious, and reverential.

    "September 27, 1873, John Campbell Shairp, "Wordsworth's Three Yarrows", in Every Saturday Wordsworth was solemnized and elevated by this his first look on Yarrow."

  4. 4
    perform (the wedding ceremony) with proper ceremonies wordnet
  5. 5
    observe or perform with dignity or gravity wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
administer communionattend communionattend massbeat the drumblow the trumpetcelebrate

Example

More examples

"The couple chose to solemnize their relationship in a secular ceremony, instead of having a wedding."

Etymology

From Middle English solempnisen, from Old French solemnisier, from Medieval Latin solemnizare, from Latin solemnis.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.