grace

/greɪs/

/greɪs/

Other forms: graces; graced; gracing

Grace commonly refers to a smooth and pleasing way of moving, or a polite and thoughtful way of behaving. But when someone says they were late to the airport and only made it onto their plane by the grace of God, they're talking about grace in the context of God's favor.

"Social graces" are the skills needed for being polite, and if you are "in someone's good graces," they regard you with favor. In Middle English, the word grace originally meant "God's favor or help," a sense that we still use today. The related word gracious originally meant "filled with God's favor or help." Grace was borrowed from Old French, from Latin gratia, "pleasing quality, favor, thanks," from gratus, "pleasing."

Definitions of grace
  1. noun
    elegance and beauty of movement or expression
    “a beautiful figure which she used in subtle movements of unparalleled grace”
    synonyms: gracility
    see moresee less
    types:
    fluidity
    the quality of moving smoothly and gracefully
    type of:
    gracefulness
    beautiful carriage
  2. noun
    a sense of propriety and consideration for others
    “a place where the company of others must be accepted with good grace”
    synonyms: seemliness
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    unseemliness
    a lack of consideration for others
    type of:
    correctitude, properness, propriety
    correct or appropriate behavior
  3. noun
    a disposition to kindness and compassion
    “the victor's grace in treating the vanquished”
    synonyms: good will, goodwill
    see moresee less
    type of:
    good nature
    a cheerful, obliging disposition
  4. verb
    make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
    synonyms: adorn, beautify, decorate, embellish, ornament
    ornament
    be an ornament to
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 54 types...
    hide 54 types...
    wreathe
    decorate or deck with wreaths
    beset, encrust, incrust
    decorate or cover lavishly (as with gems)
    braid
    decorate with braids or ribbons
    broider, embroider
    decorate with needlework
    stick
    cover and decorate with objects that pierce the surface
    illustrate
    supply with illustrations
    garland
    adorn with bands of flowers or leaves
    fledge, flight
    decorate with feathers
    bespangle, spangle
    decorate with spangles
    foliate
    decorate with leaves
    flag
    decorate with flags
    bard, barde, caparison, dress up
    put a caparison on
    bead
    decorate by sewing beads onto
    pipe
    trim with piping
    applique
    sew on as a decoration
    gild the lily, paint the lily
    adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful)
    vermiculate
    decorate with wavy or winding lines
    smock
    embellish by sewing in straight lines crossing each other diagonally
    hang
    decorate or furnish with something suspended
    prank
    dress or decorate showily or gaudily
    tinsel
    adorn with tinsel
    tart up
    decorate in a cheap and flashy way
    stucco
    decorate with stucco work
    redecorate
    redo the decoration of an apartment or house
    panel
    decorate with panels
    bejewel, jewel
    adorn or decorate with precious stones
    filet, fillet
    decorate with a lace of geometric designs
    scallop
    decorate an edge with scallops
    bedizen
    decorate tastelessly
    dress ship
    decorate a ship with flags
    dress, garnish, trim
    decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
    trim
    decorate, as with ornaments
    bedeck, bedight, deck
    decorate
    festoon
    decorate with strings of flowers
    enamel
    coat, inlay, or surface with enamel
    inlay
    decorate the surface of by inserting wood, stone, and metal
    lacquer
    coat with lacquer
    begild, engild, gild
    decorate with, or as if with, gold leaf or liquid gold
    illuminate
    add embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts)
    blazon, emblazon
    decorate with heraldic arms
    color, colour, emblazon
    decorate with colors
    fringe
    adorn with a fringe
    fret
    decorate with an interlaced design
    landscape
    embellish with plants
    monogram
    mark, print, or embroider with one’s initials or other letters
    faggot, fagot
    ornament or join (fabric) by faggot stitch
    purl
    embroider with gold or silver thread
    purl
    edge or border with gold or silver embroidery
    plume
    deck with a plume
    hatch
    inlay with narrow strips or lines of a different substance such as gold or silver, for the purpose of decorating
    damascene
    inlay metal with gold and silver
    japan
    coat with a lacquer, as done in Japan
    miniate, rubricate
    decorate (manuscripts) with letters painted red
    miniate
    paint with red lead or vermilion
    type of:
    alter, change, modify
    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
  5. verb
    be beautiful to look at
    synonyms: adorn, beautify, deck, decorate, embellish
    see moresee less
    types:
    ornament
    be an ornament to
    type of:
    be
    have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
  6. noun
    (Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
    “the conception of grace developed alongside the conception of sin”
    “it was debated whether saving grace could be obtained outside the membership of the church”
    “the Virgin lived in a state of grace”
    synonyms: saving grace, state of grace
    see moresee less
    type of:
    state
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
  7. noun
    (Christian theology) the free and unmerited favor or beneficence of God
    “God's grace is manifested in the salvation of sinners”
    “there but for the grace of God go I”
    synonyms: free grace, grace of God
    see moresee less
    type of:
    beneficence
    the quality of being kind or helpful or generous
  8. noun
    a short prayer of thanks before a meal
    “their youngest son said grace”
    synonyms: blessing, thanksgiving
    see moresee less
    type of:
    orison, petition, prayer
    reverent petition to a deity
Pronunciation
US

/greɪs/
UK

/greɪs/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

A paragraph of text

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘grace'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing grace

Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7

On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 170 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.

Selection Vocabulary 5, Unit 6

This list covers "The Four Foods," "Gaman," and "Demeter's Prayer to Hades."

The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8

On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 200 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.

MORE VOCABULARY LISTS
EDITOR'S CHOICE

Look up grace for the last time

Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.

Start your vocabulary training
VocabTrainer - Vocabulary.com's Vocabulary Trainer