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grace

 
Dictionary: grace   (grās) pronunciation
n.
  1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
  2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
  3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
    1. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
    2. Mercy; clemency.
  4. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
  5. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.
  6. Graces Greek & Roman Mythology. Three sister goddesses, known in Greek mythology as Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, who dispense charm and beauty.
    1. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
    2. The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.
    3. An excellence or power granted by God.
  7. A short prayer of blessing or thanksgiving said before or after a meal.
  8. Grace Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop.
  9. Music. An appoggiatura, trill, or other musical ornanment in the music of 16th and 17th century England.
tr.v., graced, grac·ing, grac·es.
  1. To honor or favor: You grace our table with your presence.
  2. To give beauty, elegance, or charm to.
  3. Music. To embellish with grace notes.
idioms:

in the bad graces of

  1. Out of favor with.
in the good graces of
  1. In favor with.
with bad grace
  1. In a grudging manner.
with good grace
  1. In a willing manner.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin grātia, from grātus, pleasing.]


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In Christian theology, the unmerited gift of divine favour, which brings about the salvation of a sinner. The concept of grace has given rise to theological debate over the nature of human depravity and the extent to which individuals may contribute to their own salvation through free will. Though in principle the ideas of merit and grace are mutually exclusive, the question of whether grace may be given as a reward for good works or for faith alone was important in the Protestant Reformation. There has also been controversy over the means of grace: Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestants believe that it is conferred through the sacraments, while some other Protestants (e.g., Baptists) hold that participation in grace results from personal faith alone. See also justification; original sin.

For more information on grace, visit Britannica.com.

Serve issues of a periodical after the subscription has expired, usually in order to meet the rate base, to use extra copies of an issue, or to further encourage renewals; also called arrears. Gracing is more economically advantageous for magazines that derive more of their revenue from advertising than from subscriptions.

The audit bureau of circulations has specific rules for gracing to which the publisher must adhere in order to count these issues as paid circulation. The most important rules are that gracing applies only to paid subscriptions that have not missed any issues since expire and that graced issues can be sent for only three months.

Thesaurus: grace
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noun

  1. Refined, effortless beauty of manner, form, and style: elegance, elegancy, polish, urbanity. See beautiful/ugly, style/good style/bad style.
  2. A sense of propriety or rightness: conscience, decency. See right/wrong.
  3. Kindly, charitable interest in others: altruism, beneficence, benevolence, benignancy, benignity, charitableness, charity, goodwill, kindheartedness, kindliness, kindness, philanthropy. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, kind/cruel.
  4. Kind, forgiving, or compassionate treatment of or disposition toward others: charity, clemency, lenience, leniency, lenity, mercifulness, mercy. See forgiveness/vindictiveness.
  5. A kindly act: favor, good turn, indulgence, kindness, service. Archaic benefit. See help/harm/harmless.
  6. Temporary immunity from penalties: reprieve, respite. See continue/stop/pause.
  7. A short prayer said at meals: benediction, blessing, thanks, thanksgiving. See grateful/ungrateful, religion.

verb

  1. To lend dignity or honor to by an act or favor: dignify, honor. See beautiful/ugly.
  2. To endow with beauty and elegance by way of a notable addition: adorn, beautify, embellish, enhance, set off. See beautiful/ugly.

Antonyms: grace
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n

Definition: charm, loveliness
Antonyms: clumsiness, inelegance, ineptness, tactlessness

n

Definition: mercy, forgiveness
Antonyms: disfavor, mercilessness, unforgiveness

v

Definition: beautify, embellish
Antonyms: disgrace, uglify


Theologians attracted to predestination (Paul, Augustine, Calvin, Pascal, and many others) tend also to believe that people cannot by their own unaided efforts live good lives, or become deserving of salvation. They have to rely on a free gift of God—the gift of grace. In Protestantism, according to Weber, the best sign of having been blessed with grace is an abundance of worldly riches.

 
grace, in Christian theology, the free favor of God toward humans, which is necessary for their salvation. A distinction is made between natural grace (e.g., the gift of life) and supernatural grace, by which God makes a person (born sinful because of original sin) capable of enjoying eternal life. In general, the term grace is restricted to supernatural grace, usually considered as the keystone of the whole Christian theological system.

Supernatural grace is usually defined as being actual or sanctifying. Actual grace turns the soul to God; sanctifying grace confirms and perpetuates the ends of this conversion and makes the soul habitually good. Most theologies (except in Calvinism), wishing to maintain humanity's freedom in addition to God's complete freedom in granting grace, distinguish prevenient grace, which frees a person and awakens him or her to God's call, from cooperating grace, by which God assists to salvation the free person who seeks it.

When God seems to confer on a person such actual grace that his or her conversion appears inevitable, the grace is said to be efficacious. The apparent difficulty of claiming that grace may be efficacious while a person is free was explained by St. Thomas Aquinas on the ground that it was a peculiar nature of this grace granted to some people that it should be ineluctable; it was this doctrine that Luis Molina and the Molinists disputed. Differing in effect from efficacious grace is merely sufficient grace, which, while sufficient to conversion, may be rejected by a person at will. Calvinism rejects merely sufficient grace, holding instead that grace is irresistible.

In every Christian theology God is considered to grant grace quite freely, since its gift is far greater than any person can merit. As to which persons are offered this grace, there is great difference. The generality hold that it is offered to people who place no obstacle in the way of salvation rather than to those who neglect what ways to grace they have been given; the Jansenists (see Jansen, Cornelis), however, believed that grace was not given outside the church, and the Calvinists hold that it is offered only to those predestined to election.

Sanctifying grace may be said to succeed justification as actual grace precedes it. The operation of sanctifying grace brings holiness to the individual soul. The indwelling of God in the soul and the soul's actual participation in God's nature (in an indefinable manner) are the perfections of sanctifying grace. As to the means, there is a serious cleavage in Christianity, notably in regard to sacramental grace. According to Roman Catholics and Orthodox, the grace accompanying a sacrament is ex opere operato, i.e., by God's ordinance the sacrament actually confers grace, the good disposition of the minister being unimportant and that of the recipient being not always a condition; Protestants hold that the sacraments are ex opere operantis, i.e., the faith of the recipient is all-important, and the sacrament is the sign, not the source of grace.

Certain Christian systems have developed quite different ideas of grace, and Pelagianism has its advocates in liberal 20th-century Protestantism. The great emphasis on grace is a distinction of Christianity. In recent years among orthodox theologians there has been a renewed interest in the theology of grace. Among traditional usages, they distinguish three forms of grace: God's communication of Himself to the Christian soul is grace; the favorable attitude of God toward the soul is grace; the ontological modification of Christian life by God's favor is grace.


Word Tutor: grace
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Beauty or charm of form or movement. Also: A short prayer asking blessing or giving thanks for a meal.

pronunciation Courage is grace under pressure. — Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961).

Translations: Grace
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ynde, elegance, nåde, gunst, bevågenhed, benådning, dyd
v. tr. - beære, pryde, begunstige, udmærke

idioms:

  • days of grace    løbedage, frist, respitdage
  • grace and favour house    fribolig tildelt af monarken
  • have the (good) grace    være så venlig at
  • His Grace    hans nåde
  • Your Grace    Deres Nåde

Nederlands (Dutch)
gratie, fatsoen, genade, goedgunstigheid, deugd, versiering (muziek), tafelgebed, Excellentie, opluisteren, vereren

Français (French)
n. - grâce, charme, dignité, délai de grâce, bénédicité, grâces (après le repas), savoir-vivre, ce qui sauve qn/qch
v. tr. - embellir, agrémenter, orner, honorer, être doué/doté de, honorer (qn de sa présence) (iro)

idioms:

  • days of grace    jours de grâce
  • grace and favour house    (GB) occupation gratuite d'un logement/d'une habitation appartenant à la Couronne
  • have the good grace    avoir la bonne grâce de faire
  • have the grace    avoir la grâce
  • His Grace    Monseigneur (archevêque), Monsieur le Duc
  • with bad grace    de mauvaise grâce, à regret
  • with good grace    de bonne grâce
  • Your Grace    Monseigneur, Monsieur le Duc, Madame la Duchesse

Deutsch (German)
v. - etwas Glanz verleihen, zieren, beehren
n. - Wohlwollen, Huld, Gnade, Aufschub, Grazie, Anmut, Anstand, Tischgebet

idioms:

  • days of grace    Zeit bis zur Fälligkeit
  • grace and favour house    von der Regierung oder Krone zur Verfügung gestelltes Haus
  • have the good grace    so anständig sein
  • have the grace    so anständig sein, so freundlich sein
  • His Grace    Seine Gnaden
  • with bad grace    widerwillig
  • with good grace    bereitwillig
  • Your Grace    Euer Gnaden

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - τιμώ, κοσμώ, λαμπρύνω (με την παρουσία μου)
n. - χάρη, εύνοια, χατίρι, έλεος, θέλγητρο, ευπρέπεια, (επί τίτλων προσφώνησης) εξοχότητα, υψηλότητα, (θρησκ.) θεία χάρη, ευχαριστήρια προσευχή γεύματος

idioms:

  • days of grace    (οικον.) ημέρες ή περίοδος χάριτος
  • fall from grace    πέφτω σε δυσμένεια, (θρησκ.) απώλεια της θείας χάριτος
  • grace and favour house    δωρεάν παραχώρηση χρήσης σπιτιού
  • have the (good) grace    έχω τη λεπτότητα
  • His Grace    η αυτού εξοχότητα, υψηλότητα, σεβασμιότητα
  • Your Grace    εξοχότατε, υψηλότατε, σεβασμιότατε

Italiano (Italian)
adornare, benedicite, favore, grazia, proroga, misericordia

idioms:

  • days of grace    giorni di proroga
  • grace and favour (house)    concesso in vitalizio
  • have the (good) grace    aver il buon gusto di
  • your grace    Vostra Grazia

Português (Portuguese)
v. - honrar, ornar
n. - graça (f), favor (m), perdão (m)

idioms:

  • days of grace    prazo (m) (de pagamento)
  • grace and favour house    imóvel (m) pertencente ao soberano concedida gratuitamente a um favorecido
  • have the (good) grace    ter boa vontade
  • your grace    Vossa Alteza, Vossa Excelência Reverendíssima

Русский (Russian)
грация, достоинство, благосклонность, милость, помилование, отсрочка, льгота, молитва (до и после еды), удостаивать, награждать, украшать

idioms:

  • days of grace    льготные дни (дни отсрочки платежей)
  • grace and favour house    дом,занимаемый по разрешению монарха за личные заслуги
  • have the (good) grace    иметь достаточно такта для чего-л.
  • your grace    Ваша светлость/ сиятельство

Español (Spanish)
n. - benevolencia, merced, perdón, plazo, demora, prórroga, gracia, elegancia, garbo, misericordia, favor
v. tr. - amenizar, dar brillo a, dar lustre a, adornar, honrar, favorecer

idioms:

  • days of grace    período de gracia o de espera
  • grace and favour house    morada perteneciente a la Corona, que se entrega gratis a alguien
  • have the good grace    tener la cortesía, tener la gentileza, tener buen talante
  • have the grace    tener la gentileza de
  • His Grace    Su Excelencia
  • with bad grace    a desgana, con disgusto, a regañadientes, de mala gana
  • with good grace    de buena gana, con gusto, de buen talante
  • Your Grace    Su Excelencia

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - pryda, hedra, kolorera (mus.)
n. - behag, älskvärdhet, takt, ynnest, (tilltalande) drag, nåd (teol.), anstånd, bordsbön

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
优雅, 慈悲, 风度, 使优美

idioms:

  • days of grace    宽限日
  • grace and favour house    君主钦赐的房屋
  • have the (good) grace    通情达理
  • His Grace    大人
  • Your Grace    大人, 夫人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 優雅, 慈悲, 風度
v. tr. - 使優美

idioms:

  • days of grace    寬限日
  • grace and favour house    君主欽賜的房屋
  • have the (good) grace    通情達理
  • His Grace    大人
  • Your Grace    大人, 夫人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 우아, 세련, (신의) 은총, 은혜, 호의, 감사 기도, 특사, 지불 유예
v. tr. - 영광스럽게 하다, 아름답게 하다

idioms:

  • have the (good) grace    기꺼이 하다, 아량이 있다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 優雅さ, しとやかさ, 美点, 長所, 魅力, 上品な態度, 恵み, 好意, 親切, 愛顧, 恩恵, 猶予, 閣下, 感謝の祈り, 優美, 優雅, 上品, ひいき, 装飾音, 恩赦, 美徳, 特赦
v. - 優雅にする, 光彩を添える

idioms:

  • days of grace    支払猶予期間
  • grace and favour house    王室から無料提供された家
  • have the (good) grace    親切にする
  • your grace    猊下

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يشرف (الاسم) نعمه إلهيه, فضل منه, جمال, حسن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חן, נועם, חסד, רצון טוב, ארכה, דחייה, ברכת המזון, חסדי אל, נדיבות, רכות, כישרון טבעי, אדיבות, מחילה, כל אחת משלוש האחיות, אלות החן במיתולוגיה היוונית‬
v. tr. - ‮קישט, הוסיף לוויית חן ל-, הוסיף כבוד ל-‬


 
 
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