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Definition of convent noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

convent

noun
 
/ˈkɒnvənt/
 
/ˈkɑːnvent/,
 
/ˈkɑːnvənt/
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  1. a building in which a Christian community of nuns (= members of a female religious community) live together
    • She entered a convent at the age of sixteen.
    • She spent her whole life in a convent.
    Collocations ReligionReligionBeing religious
    • believe in God/​Christ/​Allah/​free will/​predestination/​heaven and hell/​an afterlife/​reincarnation
    • be/​become a believer/​an atheist/​an agnostic/​a Christian/​Muslim/​Hindu/​Buddhist, etc.
    • convert to/​practise a religion/​Buddhism/​Catholicism/​Christianity/​Islam/​Judaism, etc.
    • go to church/(North American English) temple (= the synagogue)
    • go to the local church/​mosque/​synagogue/​gurdwara
    • belong to a church/​a religious community
    • join/​enter the church/​a convent/​a monastery/​a religious sect/​the clergy/​the priesthood
    • praise/​worship/​obey/​serve/​glorify God
    Celebrations and ritual
    • attend/​hold/​conduct/​lead a service
    • perform a ceremony/​a rite/​a ritual/​a baptism/​the Hajj/​a mitzvah
    • carry out/​perform a sacred/​burial/​funeral/​fertility/​purification rite
    • go on/​make a pilgrimage
    • celebrate Christmas/​Easter/​Eid/​Ramadan/​Hanukkah/​Passover/​Diwali
    • observe/​break the Sabbath/​a fast/​Ramadan
    • deliver/​preach/​hear a sermon
    • lead/​address the congregation
    • say/​recite a prayer/​blessing
    Religious texts and ideas
    • preach/​proclaim/​spread the word of God/​the Gospel/​the message of Islam
    • study/​follow the dharma/​the teachings of Buddha
    • read/​study/​understand/​interpret scripture/​the Bible/​the Koran/​the gospel/​the Torah
    • be based on/​derive from divine revelation
    • commit/​consider something heresy/​sacrilege
    Religious belief and experience
    • seek/​find/​gain enlightenment/​wisdom
    • strengthen/​lose your faith
    • keep/​practise/​practice/​abandon the faith
    • save/​purify/​lose your soul
    • obey/​follow/​keep/​break/​violate a commandment/​Islamic law/​Jewish law
    • be/​accept/​do God’s will
    • receive/​experience divine grace
    • achieve/​attain enlightenment/​salvation/​nirvana
    • undergo a conversion/​rebirth/​reincarnation
    • hear/​answer a prayer
    • commit/​confess/​forgive a sin
    • do/​perform penance
    Extra Examples
    • The nuns established a convent here in 1692.
    • the Convent of St Saviour
    • within the convent walls
    Topics Religion and festivalsc2, Buildingsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • Carmelite
    • Catholic
    • Franciscan
    verb + convent
    • enter
    • join
    • leave
    convent + noun
    • building
    • wall
    • education
    preposition
    • in a/​the convent
    • convent of
    See full entry
  2. (also convent school)
    a school run by nuns
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • Carmelite
    • Catholic
    • Franciscan
    verb + convent
    • enter
    • join
    • leave
    convent + noun
    • building
    • wall
    • education
    preposition
    • in a/​the convent
    • convent of
    See full entry
  3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin conventus ‘assembly, company’, from the verb convenire ‘assemble, agree, fit’, from con- ‘together’ + venire ‘come’. The original spelling was covent (surviving in the place name Covent Garden); the modern form dates from the 16th cent.
See convent in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
perspective
noun
 
 
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