Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - blessing

(blessings) 1. A blessing is something good that you are grateful for. Rivers are a blessing for an agricultural country. ...the blessings of prosperity. N-COUNT 2. If something is done with someone’s blessing, it is done with their approval and support. With the blessing of the White House, a group of Democrats in Congress is meeting to find additional budget cuts... In April Thai and Indonesian leaders gave their formal blessing to the idea. = approval N-COUNT: usu sing, with poss 3. A blessing is a prayer asking God to look kindly upon the people who are present or the event that is taking place. N-COUNT 4. see also bless 5. If you tell someone to count their blessings, you are saying that they should think about how lucky they are instead of complaining. Some would argue this was no burden in fact, and that she should count her blessings. PHRASE: V inflects 6. If you say that something is a blessing in disguise, you mean that it causes problems and difficulties at first but later you realize that it was the best thing that could have happened. The failure to conclude the trade talks last December could prove a blessing in disguise. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 7. If you say that a situation is a mixed blessing, you mean that it has disadvantages as well as advantages. For ordinary Italians, Sunday’s news probably amounts to a mixed blessing. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR