saint

/seɪnt/

/seɪnt/

Other forms: saints; sainted; sainting

A saint is a person who is very holy — or just very good. If you gave all your money away to charity, some people might consider you a saint.

Saint can refer to a person who is officially recognized as holy within a particular faith or religion. However, any person who is considered deeply religious or especially generous could be called a saint. You might say that someone is a saint if they go to religious services every day, or if they spend a lot of time volunteering at a school or at a hospital.

Definitions of saint

1. noun

   a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization
   examples:

   Saint Ambrose

   (Roman Catholic Church) Roman priest who became bishop of Milan; the first Church Father born and raised in the Christian faith; composer of hymns; imposed orthodoxy on the early Christian church and built up its secular power; a saint and Doctor of the Church (340?-397)

   Saint Andrew the Apostle

   (New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of Peter; patron saint of Scotland

   Saint Anselm

   an Italian who was a Benedictine monk; was archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109; one of the founders of scholasticism; best known for his proof of the existence of God

   Saint Thomas Aquinas

   (Roman Catholic Church) Italian theologian and Doctor of the Church who is remembered for his attempt to reconcile faith and reason in a comprehensive theology; presented philosophical proofs of the existence of God (1225-1274)

   Athanasius the Great

   (Roman Catholic Church) Greek patriarch of Alexandria who championed Christian orthodoxy against Arianism; a church father, saint, and Doctor of the Church (293-373)

   Augustine of Hippo

   (Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian church; after a dramatic conversion to Christianity he became bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa; St. Augustine emphasized man's need for grace (354-430)

   St. Basil the Great

   (Roman Catholic Church) the bishop of Caesarea who defended the Roman Catholic Church against the heresies of the 4th century; a saint and Doctor of the Church (329-379)

   Saint Thomas a Becket

   (Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170)

   the Venerable Bede

   (Roman Catholic Church) English monk and scholar (672-735)

   Saint Benedict

   Italian monk who founded the Benedictine order about 540 (480-547)

   Apostle of Germany

   (Roman Catholic Church) Anglo-Saxon missionary who was sent to Frisia and Germany to spread the Christian faith; was martyred in Frisia (680-754)

   Saint Bridget

   Irish abbess; a patron saint of Ireland (453-523)

   Saint Bruno

   (Roman Catholic Church) a French cleric (born in Germany) who founded the Carthusian order in 1084 (1032-1101)

   Domingo de Guzman

   (Roman Catholic Church) Spanish priest who founded an order whose members became known as Dominicans or Black Friars (circa 1170-1221)

   Saint Edward the Confessor

   son of Ethelred the Unready; King of England from 1042 to 1066; he founded Westminster Abbey where he was eventually buried (1003-1066)

   Saint Edward the Martyr

   King of England who was a son of Edgar; he was challenged for the throne by supporters of his half-brother Ethelred II who eventually murdered him (963-978)

   Saint Francis of Assisi

   (Roman Catholic Church) an Italian and the Roman Catholic monk who founded the Franciscan order of friars (1181-1226)

   Gregory the Great

   (Roman Catholic Church) an Italian pope distinguished for his spiritual and temporal leadership; a saint and Doctor of the Church (540?-604)

   St. Gregory of Nazianzen

   (Roman Catholic Church) a church father known for his constant fight against perceived heresies; a saint and Doctor of the Church (329-391)

   Saint Ignatius

   bishop of Antioch who was martyred under the Roman Emperor Trajan (died 110)

   Saint Ignatius of Loyola

   Spaniard and Roman Catholic theologian and founder of the Society of Jesus; a leading opponent of the Reformation (1491-1556)

   Saint Irenaeus

   Greek theologian who was bishop of Lyons and an antiheretical writer; a saint and Doctor of the Church (circa 130-200)

   Saint James the Apostle

   (New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of John; author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament

   Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

   (Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian Church whose major work was his translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (which became the Vulgate); a saint and Doctor of the Church (347-420)

   Saint John the Apostle

   (New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally said to be the author of the 4th Gospel and three epistles and the book of Revelation

   St. John Chrysostom

   (Roman Catholic Church) a Church Father who was a great preacher and bishop of Constantinople; a saint and Doctor of the Church (347-407)

   St. John the Baptist

   (New Testament) a preacher and hermit and forerunner of Jesus (whom he baptized); was beheaded by Herod at the request of Salome

   Saint Jude

   (New Testament) supposed brother of St. James; one of the Apostles who is invoked in prayer when a situation seems hopeless

   Saint Lawrence

   Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)

   Leo the Great

   Italian pope from 440 to 461 who extended the authority of the papacy to the west and persuaded Attila not to attack Rome (440-461)

   Saint Louis

   king of France and son of Louis VIII; he led two unsuccessful Crusades; considered an ideal medieval king (1214-1270)

   Saint Luke

   (New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel

   Saint Mark

   Apostle and companion of Saint Peter; assumed to be the author of the second Gospel

   St. Martin

   French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)

   St. Mary Magdalene

   sinful woman Jesus healed of evil spirits; she became a follower of Jesus

   Saint Matthew the Apostle

   (New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first Gospel

   Saint Nicholas

   a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus (4th century)

   Saint Olaf

   King and patron saint of Norway (995-1030)

   Apostle of the Gentiles

   (New Testament) a Christian missionary to the Gentiles; author of several Epistles in the New Testament; even though Paul was not present at the Last Supper he is considered an Apostle

   Saint Peter the Apostle

   disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope

   Simon the Canaanite

   one of the twelve Apostles (first century)

   Saint Teresa of Avila

   Spanish mystic and religious reformer; author of religious classics and a Christian saint (1515-1582)

   Thomas the doubting Apostle

   the Apostle who would not believe the resurrection of Jesus until he saw Jesus with his own eyes

   St. Vitus

   Christian martyr and patron of those who suffer from epilepsy and Sydenham's chorea (died around 300)

   types:

   patron saint

   a saint who is considered to be a defender of some group or nation

   type of:

   deity, divinity, god, immortal

   any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
2. noun

   person of exceptional holiness
   synonyms: angel, holy man, holy person

   types:

   Buddha

   one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment

   fakeer, fakir, faqir, faquir

   a Muslim or Hindu mendicant monk who is regarded as a holy man

   dervish

   an ascetic Muslim monk; a member of an order noted for devotional exercises involving bodily movements

   type of:

   good person

   a person who is good to other people
3. noun

   model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
   synonyms: apotheosis, ideal, nonesuch, nonpareil, nonsuch, paragon

   types:

   jimdandy, jimhickey

   someone excellent of their kind

   class act

   someone who shows impressive and stylish excellence

   humdinger

   someone of remarkable excellence

   type of:

   model, role model

   someone worthy of imitation
4. verb

   declare (a dead person) to be a saint
   synonyms: canonise, canonize

   type of:

   adjudge, declare, hold

   declare to be
5. verb

   hold sacred
   synonyms: enshrine

   type of:

   fear, revere, reverence, venerate

   regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of