as in hymn
a religious song
the monks offered up a canticle at dawn on Easter morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of canticle
Gustave Doré, the celebrated French illustrator, did elaborate engravings for the three canticles in the mid-19th century and devoted 99 out of 135 of them to Dante Alighieri’s darkest scenes.
—
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
That’s the opening line of Slipknot’s rage-rot canticle.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
The leaders of this communal canticle were the women of Boygenius — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2023
The first was Bach’s glorious 12-part canticle, premiered in 1723 as the conclusion of the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig as a sort of meet-your-new-cantor demonstration of his powers.
—Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
That’s the opening line of Slipknot’s rage-rot canticle.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
The leaders of this communal canticle were the women of Boygenius — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2023
The first was Bach’s glorious 12-part canticle, premiered in 1723 as the conclusion of the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig as a sort of meet-your-new-cantor demonstration of his powers.
—Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
For many students of Dante, Purgatory is the Divine Comedy’s central canticle poetically, philosophically, and psychologically.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canticle
Noun
-
Their ceremony began with a hymn sung by Darius’ favorite gospel singer, Jekalyn Carr, and guests were invited to sing along, the couple recalled to the outlet.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Christian hymns were sung in English and Creole.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Fortunately, the crowd did something very cool and chimed in to help out anthem singer Cami Clune.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
This new 20-minute epic was the band’s Crazy Horse moment, their idea of a rock anthem that starts with a tuneful, melancholy song and then proceeds to deconstruct it with loud report.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The epitome of that tradition is Choral Evensong, an evening service of hymns, psalms and prayers laid out by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of the Church of England, in 1549.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
After all, audiences may be captivated by the psalm singing itself, but then can also find more things that capture their imagination in the observational doc.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Canticle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canticle. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
