grace
noun /ɡreɪs/
/ɡreɪs/
Idioms - [uncountable] an attractive quality of movement that is smooth and done with control; a simple and beautiful quality
- She moves with the natural grace of a ballerina.
- a debut album of uncommon grace and beauty
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- easy
- effortless
- fluid
- …
- have
- move with
- with grace
- [uncountable] a quality of behaviour that is polite and pleasant and deserves respect
- He conducted himself with grace and dignity throughout the trial.
- graces[plural] (especially British English) ways of behaving that people think are polite and acceptable
- He was not particularly well versed in the social graces.
- [uncountable] extra time that is given to somebody to enable them to pay a bill, finish a piece of work, etc.
- They've given me a month's grace to get the money.
- [uncountable] the love that God shows towards the human race
- the power of divine grace
- It was only by the grace of God that they survived.
- The mantra bestows Siva's grace upon the devotee.
Collocations ReligionReligionBeing religiousTopics Religion and festivalsc2- believe in God/Christ/Allah/free will/predestination/heaven and hell/an afterlife/reincarnation
- be/become a believer/an atheist/an agnostic/a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist, etc.
- convert to/practise a religion/Buddhism/Catholicism/Christianity/Islam/Judaism, etc.
- go to church/(North American English) temple (= the synagogue)
- go to the local church/mosque/synagogue/gurdwara
- belong to a church/a religious community
- join/enter the church/a convent/a monastery/a religious sect/the clergy/the priesthood
- praise/worship/obey/serve/glorify God
- attend/hold/conduct/lead a service
- perform a ceremony/a rite/a ritual/a baptism/the Hajj/a mitzvah
- carry out/perform a sacred/burial/funeral/fertility/purification rite
- go on/make a pilgrimage
- celebrate Christmas/Easter/Eid/Ramadan/Hanukkah/Passover/Diwali
- observe/break the Sabbath/a fast/Ramadan
- deliver/preach/hear a sermon
- lead/address the congregation
- say/recite a prayer/blessing
- preach/proclaim/spread the word of God/the Gospel/the message of Islam
- study/follow the dharma/the teachings of Buddha
- read/study/understand/interpret scripture/the Bible/the Koran/the gospel/the Torah
- be based on/derive from divine revelation
- commit/consider something heresy/sacrilege
- seek/find/gain enlightenment/wisdom
- strengthen/lose your faith
- keep/practise/practice/abandon the faith
- save/purify/lose your soul
- obey/follow/keep/break/violate a commandment/Islamic law/Jewish law
- be/accept/do God’s will
- receive/experience divine grace
- achieve/attain enlightenment/salvation/nirvana
- undergo a conversion/rebirth/reincarnation
- hear/answer a prayer
- commit/confess/forgive a sin
- do/perform penance
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- divine
- heavenly
- sublime
- …
- bestow
- confer
- pour
- …
- [uncountable, countable] a short prayer that is usually said before a meal to thank God for the food
- Let's say grace.
- His/Her/Your Grace[countable] used as a title of respect when talking to or about an archbishop, a duke or a duchess
- Good Morning, Your Grace.
- Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
see also coup de grâce, saving grace
of movement
behaviour
extra time
of God
prayer
title
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin gratia, from gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’; related to grateful.
Idioms
airs and graces
- (British English, disapproving) a way of behaving that shows that somebody thinks that they are more important, etc. than they really are synonym airs
- Even when he became a star he didn’t have any airs and graces.
be in somebody’s good graces
- (formal) to have somebody’s approval and be liked by them
fall from grace
- to lose the trust or respect that people have for you, especially by doing something bad or morally wrong
somebody’s fall from grace
- a situation in which somebody loses the trust or respect that people have for them, especially because they have done something that is bad or morally wrong
- The biography explains the circumstances surrounding her fall from grace.
have the (good) grace to do something
- to be polite enough to do something, especially when you have done something wrong
- He didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed.
in a state of grace
- (in the Roman Catholic Church) having been forgiven by God for the wrong or evil things you have done
- He died in a state of grace.
there but for the grace of God (go I)
- (saying) used to say that you could easily have been in the same difficult or unpleasant situation that somebody else is in
with (a) bad grace
- in an unwilling and/or rude way
- He handed over the money with typical bad grace.
with (a) good grace
- in a willing and pleasant way
- You must learn to accept defeat with good grace.
- We will simply have to accept the situation with a good grace.
year of grace | year of our Lord
- (formal) any particular year after the birth of Christ