ordain Synonym

appoint - designate - decree - enact - establish - institute - nominate - install - anoint - consecrate

To ordain means to officially invest someone with religious authority or priestly office through a formal ceremony, often within Christian traditions. A person who is ordained is given the right and responsibility to perform sacred duties such as leading worship, administering sacraments, and providing spiritual guidance. The term can also be used more broadly to mean to officially establish, decree, or order something by authority, whether religious, legal, or institutional. In both senses, it involves a recognized power that confers status, responsibility, or a binding directive on people or situations.