DIVINE


Meaning of DIVINE in English

I. di ‧ vine 1 /dəˈvaɪn, dɪˈvaɪn/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: divin , from Latin divus 'god' ]

1 . coming from or relating to God or a god

divine intervention/providence/revelation/guidance etc

faith in divine providence

divine power

divine love

2 . old-fashioned very pleasant or good

—divinely adverb :

a divinely inspired idea

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ holy [usually before noun] connected with God and religion, and therefore treated in a special way – used especially in the following phrases:

the Holy Bible

|

the holy city of Mecca

|

a Hindu holy man

|

They believe they are fighting a holy war.

|

The priest puts some holy water on the child’s head.

▪ sacred connected with God and religion, and therefore treated in a special way – used especially in the following phrases:

This place is sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

|

In India, cows are considered sacred.

|

the Hindu sacred texts

|

sacred music

|

a sacred ritual

▪ divine relating to or coming from God:

the divine right of kings

|

divine justice

|

divine providence

|

Human love should be a reflection of divine love, and so not be selfish or cruel.

▪ spiritual relating to the soul, the spirit, and religion, and not with physical things or ordinary human activities:

Your spiritual life is far more important than any material things you could acquire.

|

the spiritual leader of the Tibetans

▪ hallowed a hallowed place is considered to be very holy:

He was buried in hallowed ground.

|

The Golden Temple is Sikhism’s most hallowed shrine.

▪ blessed made holy by God – used especially about saints:

the blessed Virgin Mary

II. divine 2 BrE AmE verb

1 . [transitive] literary to discover or guess something

divine that

Somehow, the children had divined that he was lying.

2 . [intransitive] to search for underground water or minerals using a Y-shaped stick:

a divining rod (=the stick used for this)

—diviner noun [countable]

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.