“revere and celebrate”? that’s two times the same, ain’t it?
I’ve recently encountered the phrase “we revere and celebrate [name of a certain deity]”. But don’t “revere” and “celebrate” mean approximately the same thing? (See also my question of yesterday, about “celebrate life”.) Bad prose?
Top 4 Answers
Favorite Answer
Revere: To regard with awe, deference, and devotion.
Celebrate: To extol or praise.
They are similar, but not the same.
Revere is more passive. It can be done privately and internally.
Celebrate is more active. It is observable.
So if you’re revering and celebrating, you are acting on internal feelings by making observable outward actions.
1
You can celebrate without being reverent. It happens all the time. At parties, reunions, sporting events.
You can be reverent without celebrating. Quiet meditation is a form of reverence. So is taking a peaceful walk in nature. You may choose to celebrate these events after the fact but rarely do they occur, in these instances, at the same time.
0
Revere and celebrate aren’t synonyms.
0
holdclose to our hearts and express joy
0
