GOD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does God mean? 

• GOD (noun)
  The noun GOD has 4 senses:

1. the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

2. any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force

3. a man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people

4. a material effigy that is worshipped

  Familiarity information: GOD used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

God; Supreme Being

Instance hypernyms:

spiritual being; supernatural being (an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events)

Instance hyponyms:

Almighty; Creator; Divine; God Almighty; Godhead; Jehovah; Lord; Maker (terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God)

Jahvey; Jahweh; Jehovah; JHVH; Wahvey; Yahve; Yahveh; Yahwe; Yahweh; YHVH; YHWH (a name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH)

Allah (Muslim name for the one and only God)

Derivation:

godly (emanating from God)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

deity; divinity; god; immortal

Hypernyms ("god" is a kind of...):

spiritual being; supernatural being (an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "god"):

snake god; zombi; zombie (a god of voodoo cults of African origin worshipped especially in West Indies)

god of war; war god (a god worshipped as giving victory in war)

saint (a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization)

Phrygian deity (deity of the ancient Phrygians of west central Asia Minor)

Anglo-Saxon deity ((Anglo-Saxon mythology) a deity worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons)

Teutonic deity ((German mythology) a deity worshipped by the ancient Teutons)

Norse deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Norsemen)

Roman deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Romans)

Greek deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks)

Graeco-Roman deity; Greco-Roman deity (a deity of classical mythology)

demiurge (a subordinate deity, in some philosophies the creator of the universe)

earth-god; earth god (a god of fertility and vegetation)

goddess (a female deity)

Japanese deity (a deity worshipped by the Japanese)

Chinese deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Chinese)

Persian deity (a deity worshiped by the ancient Persians)

Hindu deity (a deity worshipped by the Hindus)

Semitic deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Semites)

Egyptian deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Egyptians)

Celtic deity (a deity worshipped by the Celts)

sun god (a god that personifies the sun or is otherwise associated with the sun)

sea god (a deity that personifies the sea and is usually believed to live in or to control the sea)

daemon; demigod (a person who is part mortal and part god)

Instance hyponyms:

Arhant; Arhat; lohan (a Buddhist who has attained nirvana)

Demogorgon ((Greek mythology) a mysterious and terrifying deity of the underworld)

Hypnos ((Greek mythology) the Greek god of sleep; the son of Nyx)

Quetzalcoatl (an Aztec deity represented as a plumed serpent)

Morpheus (the Roman god of sleep and dreams)

Boddhisatva; Bodhisattva (Buddhist worthy of nirvana who postpones it to help others)

Holonyms ("god" is a member of...):

pantheon (all the gods of a religion)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

he was a god among men

Hypernyms ("god" is a kind of...):

higher-up; superior; superordinate (one of greater rank or station or quality)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A material effigy that is worshipped

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

god; graven image; idol

Context example:

money was his god

Hypernyms ("god" is a kind of...):

effigy; image; simulacrum (a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "god"):

joss (a Chinese god worshipped in the form of an idol)

golden calf ((Old Testament) an idol made by Aaron for the Israelites to worship; destroyed by Moses; it is now used to refer to anything worshipped undeservedly)

Juggernaut (a crude idol of Krishna)

 Context examples 

Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been!

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I may have threatened her—God forgive me!—but I would not have touched a hair of her pretty head.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For God's sake, say no more of his partners.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But when little Mary was there I had never a thought of her, and that I swear as I hope for God’s mercy.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And as they waxed maudlin he studied them, watching the beast rise and master them and thanking God that he was no longer as they.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

There are, I pray God and St. Joseph and Ste. Mary, many, many, happy years for you both.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

An’ God knows where I’ll get another boat-puller!

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Harkey was in the air, in his spring to his feet, at the second shot, and he pitched face down upon the floor, his "My God!" gurgling and dying in his throat.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“Dear God, do help us,” she cried.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“I am quick to love, and quick to hate and 'fore God I am loth to part.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)