hymn
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a religious song that people sing together in a church to praise God.
n.a religious song of praise or thanksgiving, typically intended for congregational singing during a Christian worship service.
Simple“The congregation stood up to sing a traditional hymn at the start of the service.”
In context“The choir led the congregation in a powerful rendition of a nineteenth-century hymn, their voices echoing through the cathedral's vaulted ceiling.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'sing', 'compose', or 'perform'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
n.a song, poem, or piece of writing that praises someone or something very strongly.
n.a formal expression of praise or a celebratory tribute to a person, idea, or event.
Simple“The film is a beautiful hymn to the simple life of the countryside.”
In context“The poet's final collection was a moving hymn to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to praise or celebrate something in a song or poem.
v.to celebrate or extol a subject through the medium of a hymn or similar formal tribute.
Simple“The ancient poets would hymn the brave deeds of their kings.”
In context“In his epic verse, he sought to hymn the natural beauty of the rugged coastline that had inspired his youth.”
UsageCan be used transitively with a direct object or intransitively.
“One was tawdry, the other couldn’t be sweeter, as the prop-comic delivers this hymn to the canine-human relationship.”
From Middle English ymne, from Old English ymen (reinforced by Old French ymne), from Latin hymnus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ὕμνος (húmnos).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.