Celebrate

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Celebrate \Cel"e*brate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Celebrated}; p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Celebrating}.] [L. celebratus, p. p. of
     celebrare to frequent, to celebrate, fr. celeber famous.]
     1. To extol or honor in a solemn manner; as, to celebrate the
        name of the Most High.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. To honor by solemn rites, by ceremonies of joy and
        respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to
        observe duly; to keep; as, to celebrate a birthday.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
                                                    --Lev. xxiii.
                                                    32.
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     3. To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn
        rite; to solemnize; to perform with appropriate rites; as,
        to celebrate a marriage.
  
     Syn: To commemorate; distinguish; honor.
  
     Usage: To {Celebrate}, {Commemorate}. We commemorate events
            which we desire to keep in remembrance, when we recall
            them by some special observace; as, to commemorate the
            death of our Savior. We celebrate by demonstrations of
            joy or solemnity or by appropriate ceremonies; as, to
            celebrate the birthday of our Independence.
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                  We are called upon to commemorate a revolution
                  as surprising in its manner as happy in its
                  consequences.                     --Atterbury.
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                  Earth, water, air, and fire, with feeling glee,
                  Exult to celebrate thy festival.  --Thomson.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  celebrate
       v 1: celebrate, as of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments";
            "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" [syn: {observe},
             {keep}]
       2: have a celebration; "They were feting the patriarch of the
          family"; "After the exam, the students were celebrating"
          [syn: {fete}]
       3: assign great social importance to; "The film director was
          celebrated all over Hollywood"; "The tenor was lionized in
          Vienna" [syn: {lionize}, {lionise}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  116 Moby Thesaurus words for "celebrate":
     administer Communion, adulate, advertise, apotheosize,
     attend Communion, attend Mass, beat the drum, belaud, bepraise,
     blare, blare forth, blaze, blaze abroad, blazon, blazon about,
     bless, bless the Lord, blow the trumpet, blow up, boast of,
     brag about, broadcast, carouse, celebrate Mass, commemorate,
     communicate, consecrate, conventionalize, cry, cry out, cry up,
     cut loose, debauch, declaim, dedicate, deify, dignify, doxologize,
     dress ship, emblazon, eulogize, exalt, extol, fire a salute,
     flatter, formalize, glorify, glorify the Lord, hallow, hell around,
     herald, herald abroad, hero-worship, hold, hold jubilee, honor,
     hymn, idolize, jollify, jolly, jubilate, jubilize, keep, lark,
     laud, let go, let loose, let off steam, lionize, maffick, magnify,
     make merry, make much of, make whoopee, mark, memorialize, observe,
     overpraise, panegyrize, party, pay tribute, perform,
     porter aux nues, praise, praise God, proclaim, promulgate,
     publicize, puff, puff up, raise hell, receive the Sacrament,
     rejoice in, revel, ritualize, roister, salute, sanctify, see life,
     shout, signalize, sing praises, skylark, solemnize, solemnly mark,
     sound a fanfare, spree, step out, stylize, thunder, thunder forth,
     trumpet, trumpet forth, wanton, wassail, whoop it up