Congregation
[kɒŋgrɪ'geɪʃ(ə)n] or [,kɑŋɡrɪ'ɡeʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the act of congregating.
(noun.) an assemblage of people or animals or things collected together; 'a congregation of children pleaded for his autograph'; 'a great congregation of birds flew over'.
(noun.) a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church.
Checker: Witt--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of congregating, or bringing together, or of collecting into one aggregate or mass.
(n.) A collection or mass of separate things.
(n.) An assembly of persons; a gathering; esp. an assembly of persons met for the worship of God, and for religious instruction; a body of people who habitually so meet.
(n.) The whole body of the Jewish people; -- called also Congregation of the Lord.
(n.) A body of cardinals or other ecclesiastics to whom as intrusted some department of the church business; as, the Congregation of the Propaganda, which has charge of the missions of the Roman Catholic Church.
(n.) A company of religious persons forming a subdivision of a monastic order.
(n.) The assemblage of Masters and Doctors at Oxford or Cambrige University, mainly for the granting of degrees.
(n.) the name assumed by the Protestant party under John Knox. The leaders called themselves (1557) Lords of the Congregation.
Editor: Trudy
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Assembly, meeting, collection.
Edited by Guthrie
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See AGGREGATION]
Inputed by Armand
Examples
- At one point in the service a bell would be rung and a mirror lifted up, while the whole congregation, in an access of reverence, bowed lower. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He asked that the church be restored to the former congregation. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The congregation was dismissed with the notice that there would be no evening service. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- But he was still left alone in it when the congregation had assembled. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- But, said he, it proved a dear cap to our congregation. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Almost every different congregation might probably have had a little sect by itself, or have entertained some peculiar tenets of its own. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Their presence was denoted by sounds as of a congregation praying humbly, produced by their rubbing against each other in the slow wind. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Again, I see her dark eyes roll round the church when she says 'miserable sinners', as if she were calling all the congregation names. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The sermon found an end; the benediction was pronounced; the congregation dispersed. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- They did not hear the noise which disturbed our little congregation at Brussels. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- She proposed to resume this exercise on the present day, with Amelia and the wounded ensign for a congregation. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I see him now, going away in custody, despised by the congregation. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I told him that no order had been issued prohibiting the congregation attending the church. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- We now watched this youthful congregation with redoubled interest. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Such the church-yard, such the requiem, such the eternal congregation, that waited on our companion's funeral! Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Two different congregations are not allowed to enter at the same time, however, because they always fight. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He entered the churches, and foretold to the congregations their speedy removal to the vaults below. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Though made up of widely scattered congregations, it was thought of as one body of Christ, one people of God. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Typed by Gordon