messiah

noun

mes·​si·​ah mə-ˈsī-ə 

1

capitalized

a

: the expected king and deliverer of the Jews

b

: jesus sense 1

2

: a professed or accepted leader of some hope or cause

security, which the political messiahs promise

—Vardis Fisher

messiahship

mə-ˈsī-ə-ˌship 

noun

Examples of messiah in a Sentence

They thought the new principal was the messiah the school had been hoping for.

Recent Examples on the Web

Messianic Zionists in Israel and Armageddon evangelicals in America believe this will incarnate their respective, and different, messiahs. —Caise D. Hassan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Oct. 2024

Keith Gill, better known as the meme-stock messiah Roaring Kitty, has sold off his stake in the online pet retailer, divesting 9 million shares of the company. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2024

Over the past few months, some of the most prominent people in AI have fashioned themselves as modern messiahs and their products as deities. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024

Off-kilter chocolatiers, desert messiahs, civil war-era heartthrobs, lone-wolf cannibals. —Riann Phillip, Vogue, 24 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew māshīaḥ & Aramaic mĕshīḥā, literally, anointed

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

messiah

noun

mes·​si·​ah mə-ˈsī-ə 

1

capitalized

a

: the expected king and deliverer of the Jews

b

: Jesus Christ regarded as the savior of the world by Christians

2

: a leader of some hope or cause : deliverer