How to Use ordain in a Sentence

ordain

verb
  • The process was ordained by law.
  • She is an ordained minister.
  • The 25-year-old was ordained as a priest the day before.
    Associated Press, Washington Post, 28 May 2017
  • Driscoll was born in Long Beach, Calif., and was ordained as a priest in 1965.
    Michael Katz and Nicole Blanchard, idahostatesman, 24 Oct. 2017
  • To be fair, maybe the ordained don’t have too many chances to hone their dating skills.
    Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 18 May 2024
  • Then, as if ordained, Springer struck first for the Astros with a solo homer in the third.
    Mark Collette, Houston Chronicle, 31 Oct. 2017
  • Holy Land The first female pastor was ordained in the Holy Land.
    Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Haight was ordained in 1976 and spent the rest of his career in the Albany diocese.
    Lee O. Sanderlin, Baltimore Sun, 27 June 2023
  • For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
    Michael Harriot, The Root, 15 June 2018
  • Hart was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kansas City-St.
    Judy L. Thomas, kansascity, 3 July 2018
  • The members of the quorum ordained and set him apart as president of the Church.
    Glenna Christensen, idahostatesman, 19 Jan. 2018
  • This spring, nine men were ordained to the priesthood in Milwaukee, the most since 1992.
    Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 9 June 2024
  • Flynn was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Albany in 1960.
    Deanna Weniger, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2019
  • But Lambert Nieme and the six other men who will be ordained have been passed all of those tests.
    Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2018
  • Deacons are ordained ministers of the church and can fulfill some, but not all, of the roles a priest may fill.
    Fox News, 27 Oct. 2019
  • Women cannot be ordained as deacons, priests or bishops in the Catholic Church.
    Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Any man could do it, ordained or not, as long as the baptism was full immersion.
    Jamie Quatro, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
  • Dorwart was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1980.
    Jeanette Steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, 22 Sep. 2017
  • In 1836, Smith ordained Elijah Abel, a Black man, to the priesthood office of elder.
    Mica McGriggs, Teen Vogue, 11 July 2018
  • For them the flooding was ordained by God, a sign that they were vindicated in a running feud with the team.
    Ismail Muhammad, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
  • Its president is ordained not only as the one true living prophet for the church, but for the entire world.
    Eric Armstrong, New Republic, 12 Jan. 2018
  • He had been ordained as a Greek Orthodox priest on Oct. 1, about a week before.
    David Anderson, The Aegis, 16 June 2018
  • Only question is whether the new, bad rules are ordained by Hasbro.
    Chris Kohler, WIRED, 6 May 2010
  • At least 12 of those priests were either ordained or later became part of the diocese.
    Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2024
  • The faithful — lay and ordained alike — must take on the challenge of holding these two truths together.
    Kayla Bartsch, National Review, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Days before the midterms, the DeSantis campaign released a video that cast his rise as ordained from on high.
    Jonathan Swan, New York Times, 13 May 2023
  • Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
    Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, 8 Oct. 2019
  • Bishop Jenik, born in Manhattan, was ordained a priest in 1970.
    WSJ, 31 Oct. 2018
  • Pham has been serving the San Diego community since he was ordained in 1999.
    Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2023
  • Jonestown was the agricultural settlement that the Peoples Temple and Jones created in 1974, a decade after he was ordained.
    Haley Van Horn, Peoplemag, 17 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ordain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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