Synonyms of blessing
1
a
: the act or words of one that blesses
say the blessing over the wine
a priestly blessing
b
: approval, encouragement
asked her parents for their blessing before he proposed
2
: a thing conducive to happiness or welfare
My daughter is a blessing to me in my old age.
Their absence turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Count your blessings.
3
: grace (see grace entry 1 sense 4) said at a meal
said the blessing before dinner

blessing

2 of 2

present participle of bless

Examples of blessing in a Sentence

Noun Presumably he was acting with the government's blessing. They got married without their parents' blessing. We asked the Lord's blessing on us and on our project. He said a blessing before the meal.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Sometimes, what would look like to be my biggest mistakes turn out to be my biggest blessings. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2026 This is a brief overview, not a full analysis, which is probably a blessing. Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 His work complete, Gorman retired with Brind’Amour’s blessing and is now figuring out what’s next. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 OpenAI reaching into iMessage, without Apple's blessing and mid-lawsuit, shows how contested that territory has become. Gabriel Alin Zainescu, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for blessing

Word History

Etymology

Noun

see bless

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of blessing was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Blessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blessing. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

blessing

noun
bless·​ing
ˈbles-iŋ
1
: the act or words of one that blesses
2
: approval
gave my blessing to the plan
3
: something that makes one happy or content
4
: grace said at a meal

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