How to Use votive in a Sentence

votive

1 of 2 adjective
  • This set features three votive candles in dark rum, leather, and cannabis.
    — Bon Appétit, 5 Aug. 2021
  • Small candle tins and votive holders are just the right size to hold matches.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026
  • For a warm touch but votive candles in sparkly gold glass holders.
    — Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 14 Sep. 2022
  • Dress up any room—or tabletop—with a vintage tin votive tray or cupcake pan.
    — Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2022
  • Light from votive candles will make the silver glasses sparkle.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Keep in mind that the glass votive holders shown in the photo aren’t included, though.
    — Rachel Klein, Popular Mechanics, 23 June 2022
  • Dress them up with votive candles and tea lights ($7, Target).
    — Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Aug. 2022
  • The fire is believed to have started in the vestibule, near votive candles, Breen said.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 15 Sep. 2021
  • The advocates chanted and lit a row of votive candles in the empty street.
    — Curbed, 11 May 2022
  • It is surrounded by some of her favorite red and white roses, and votive candles.
    — Alison Bowen, chicagotribune.com, 15 Nov. 2020
  • But since all three are flammable, don't put a candle inside your pumpkin — use a flameless votive instead.
    — Madison Alcedo, Woman's Day, 7 June 2022
  • These days, votive and jar candles are all the rage, but there’s something to be said for classic taper candles.
    — Jennifer Blair, chicagotribune.com, 23 Dec. 2020
  • Across the empty nave was a small village of votive candles, lit by the living to remember their dead.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 22 May 2017
  • There’s no limit to the number of candle holders a votive-loving household can have.
    — Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025
  • There are but five tables, double-draped with thick tablecloths and topped with votive candles beneath opaque stenciled domes.
    — Phil Vettel, chicagotribune.com, 12 May 2017
  • Glassware can become a collection of vases for flowers or be used as votive holders.
    — Bridget Mallon, ELLE Decor, 24 Nov. 2015
  • To illuminate your jack-o’-lantern, place a tea-light candle in a glass votive holder and set it in the bottom of the pumpkin.
    — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 26 Oct. 2022
  • The mourners taped a photos of the woman and her children to the back of black plastic chairs and spelled her name out on the sidewalk with small votive candles.
    — Katie Mettler, chicagotribune.com, 19 June 2017
  • The seeds would sprout and the figures would be dried in the sun, wrapped in linen and placed on the waterway in votive barques guided to Canopus.
    — Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Courtesy of Pottery Barn Add a warm glow to your home with a set of colorful votive candles.
    — Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2020
  • All six of the new Yuletide scents start at just $2 and come in various sizes from tiny tea lights and votive lights to pillar candles and large jars.
    — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, 5 Oct. 2018
  • Surround the table centerpiece with more red accents like ornaments on top of candlesticks and a few red votive cups.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Two months after Cano was shot twice in the back by a police officer in the same park, the votive candles framing his picture are still lit.
    — Emily Wilder, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2021
  • All over the city, people hung Mylar balloons on telephone poles and lined the sidewalk with votive candles, makeshift shrines for victims.
    — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2020
  • Drop them in a votive holder of your choice—metallics, patterns, and warm colors give off a light shadow when alight—and place them around a room for romantic mood lighting.
    — Kaitlin Clark, Curbed, 23 July 2018
  • There are stark critiques of how companies like Amazon and a maker of votive candles handled safety concerns as the storms bore down.
    — Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Dec. 2021
  • The four-spoked votive wheel is surrounded with pink spinel, rubellite tourmaline and sapphire, anchored by a baroque South Sea pearl.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • It's handpoured in a sleek, hunter green glass votive, and wrapped in chic burgundy, orange and mustard yellow packaging with a matching green velvet ribbon.
    — Megan Stein, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2022
  • Renato simply painted a series of bars and blocks in red, black or white around its edges, giving it a kind of frame and turning it into a votive object of a female goddess.
    — Roberta Smith and Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2018
  • Over the next few days, mourners decorated the sidewalk on Elizabeth Street with votive candles.
    — Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, 5 Oct. 2020

votive

2 of 2 noun
  • Each cream votive is 5 inches tall and will fit in with most styles and aesthetics.
    — Addie Morton, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2023
  • This three-wick votive is a smokey mix of patchouli, amber and leather to make your space feel warm and inviting this season.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Use a mix of tapers, votives, and pillars in various heights.
    — Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 June 2025
  • Amber and smoke skull votives add an element of creepy to a mantel or tabletop.
    — Dominique Fluker, Essence, 9 Oct. 2024
  • Then arrange votives, or candles in hurricanes, on a table for a warm glow.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2025
  • Top the votive with a valentine-theme paper cupcake liner, and tie in place with colored string.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Jan. 2023
  • The subtle glow of lanterns and votives, meanwhile, is ideal for winding down with friends over a glass (or two) of wine.
    — Maggie Burch, Southern Living, 8 June 2026
  • In the evenings, candles are placed in scores of salt votives to provide light, and there’s also the round fire pit made of sandstone on the main terrace.
    — Gisela Williams Anthony Cotsifas, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
  • For your table, wrap it around the base of a large votive then fill the votive with loose evergreen leaves, and top it off with a pillar candle.
    — Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 14 Dec. 2022
  • Elegant votives scattered amongst a faux boxwood garland make the whole arrangement feel homey and cozy.
    — Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 26 July 2023
  • Mixing high tapers and low votives provides the optimal candle glow.
    — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Knotty wood paneling punctuates the soaring brick walls, and amber votives cast a warm glow.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • This 61%-off glass candle votive is cute for adding subtle lighting indoors or outdoors.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t just use a few tapered candles; mix them with tealights, votives, and pillars of varying sizes, then incorporate them around a room.
    — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Thanks to an adjustable neck, the warmer is compatible with all candle sizes, from votives to 22-ounce jar candles.
    — Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Packaged in a giftable blue box, the scrumptious-smelling votives have a six-hour burn time and will make any space feel as warm and inviting as the popular bakery.
    — Mark Marino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Add three narrow pillar candles and/or votives, use it as a stand for bowls on a buffet, or simply add a sweet bird’s nest found on a hike, and place it on a stack of books.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 30 July 2023
  • To go a more traditional, glamorous route, use a white table runner and some short votives with neutral or metallic figurines or trees.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Finish off the tablescape with some other accents, such as candle holders or a candelabra or an assortment of votives filled with tea lights.
    — Sydney Wasserman, Architectural Digest, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Taper candles can add interest to a dining table, and votives can create flickering light on a patio.
    — Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
  • This votive is a mix of eucalyptus and sandalwood along with Szechuan pepper and fennel to make your space feel fresh and inviting this season.
    — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 28 Nov. 2025
  • This votive is a mix of eucalyptus and sandalwood along with Szechuan pepper and fennel to make your space feel fresh and inviting this season.
    — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
  • This votive is a mix of eucalyptus and sandalwood along with Szechuan pepper and fennel to make your space feel fresh and inviting this season.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Candle lovers will delight in the rich jewel tones of the glass votives that glimmer as the flame illuminates their delicate embossing.
    — Nora Colomer, Fox News, 13 Dec. 2024
  • The steep stairs prove a challenge for some diners, the lighting requires you to use your votive as a flashlight to read the menu, and the hard surfaces mean repeating yourself in the din.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 22 July 2022
  • This rendition of the fan-favorite votive has a zesty citrus aroma with a gourmand twist that evokes buttery pumpkin, vanilla, and cinnamon notes.
    — Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 July 2025
  • The clear borosilicate glass beautifully reflects candlelight—a clever way to elevate plain votives.
    — Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 17 Sep. 2024
  • And with the holidays right around the corner, keep in mind that a sweet-smelling scented candle gift makes a lovely present for just about anyone on your list—from a coworker to your votive-loving mom.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Orthodox devotees string votives around an icon of the Virgin, praying for fertility or a healing miracle.
    — Helen Iatrou, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 June 2025
  • To make them, Espiricueta renders leftover brisket fat in the oven overnight, strains the liquid, steeps it with shallots, garlic, and herbs, and molds the mixture into votives.
    — Patricia Kaowthumrong, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'votive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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