baptize

verb

bap·​tize ˈbap-ˌtīz 

bap-ˈtīz,

 especially Southern  bab-ˈtīz,

 or  ˈbab-ˌtīz

variants or less commonly baptise

baptized also baptised; baptizing also baptising

transitive verb

1

religion : to administer baptism (see baptism sense 1) to

baptize a child in the Episcopal Church

was baptized a Catholic as an infant

2

a

: to purify or cleanse spiritually especially by a purging (see purge entry 1 sense 1) experience or ordeal

… baptized with pain and rapture, tears and fire …

—Sidney Lanier

b

: initiate

Both developments were baptized under last season's conditions of scanty snow …

—New York Times

3

: to give a name to (as at baptism) : christen

They baptized their son "John" after the baby's grandfather.

intransitive verb

: to administer baptism

baptizer noun

Synonyms

• call
• christen
• clepe [archaic]
• denominate
• designate
• dub
• entitle
• label
• name
• nominate
• style
• term
• title

Examples of baptize in a Sentence

The priest baptized the baby.

She was baptized at the age of 20.

Recent Examples on the Web

In Trump, Evangelicals have found a candidate who allows them, encourages them even, to baptize their prejudices against immigrants, against the LGBTQ+ communities, fomenting a movement of hatefulness, all in the name of God. —Donovan McAbee, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024

Arguing its case for the casino in court documents, Scotts Valley noted that one of the most important ancestors of the present-day band, Chief Augustine, was baptized at a mission a short distance from Vallejo in Sonoma. —Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2024

Adams served an early board member at the Democratic mainstay's civil rights organization, the National Action Network, and was baptized by Sharpton last March in a ceremony at the Rikers Island jail complex. —Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2024

The descendance from slavery, according to them, baptized the real inheritors of the Black condition. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French baptiser, from Late Latin baptizare, from Greek baptizein to dip, baptize, from baptein to dip, dye; akin to Old Norse kvefja to quench

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

baptize

verb

bap·​tize bap-ˈtīz 

ˈbap-ˌtīz

baptized; baptizing

1

: to dip in water or sprinkle water on as a part of the ceremony of receiving into the Christian church

2

a

: to make pure in spirit (as by a painful experience)

b

: initiate entry 1 sense 3

3

: to give a name to (as in the ceremony of baptism) : christen

baptizer noun