anthem

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈænθəm/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A solemn or formal song of praise or devotion, especially a national or patriotic song adopted by a country or organization as a symbol of identity.; A religious song or hymn sung by a choir in a church service, often based on a passage from scripture.; A song or piece of music that is strongly identified with a particular group, cause, or movement and serves as a rallying symbol.
  2. verb
    To celebrate or praise with or as if with an anthem; to sing an anthem in honor of.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: anthems 3rd sing.: anthems Past: anthemed Past part.: anthemed Pres part.: antheming

Collocations

national anthemsing the anthemschool anthemanthem of freedomanthem for a generation

Derivatives

anthemic

Synonyms

hymnsongchantpsalmcanticlepaean

Commonly confused

hymn
EN: 'Hymn' specifically refers to a religious song of praise to God, while 'anthem' is broader, often referring to a patriotic or celebratory song representing a group or nation.
anthem
EN: Sometimes confused in spelling with 'anthem' vs. the misspelling 'anthym'; remember it ends in '-em', not '-ym'.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'anthem' ends in '-em', not '-ym' or '-um'. It is sometimes misspelled as 'anthym' by analogy with words like 'rhythm'.

💬 Examples

  1. The crowd stood and sang the national anthem before the match began.

  2. The choir performed a beautiful anthem composed by Handel during the evening service.

  3. The protest anthem became a symbol of the civil rights movement across the nation.

  4. The poet anthemed the victories of the great king in verses that echoed through the ages.