Word

tutelary \TOO-tuh-lair-ee; TYOO-\, adjective:

Meaning

Having the guardianship or charge of protecting a person or a thing; guardian; protecting; as, "tutelary goddesses."

Examples

For the first time in history, a republic welcomed, perhaps even required, the release of the individual from tutelary powers, and in particular from religious authority.

--Diana Schaub, "On the Character of Generation X," Public Interest, Fall 1999

God is perceived less as a savior that cleanses one's sins than as a tutelary god who provides guidance and help.

--Kwai Hang Ng, "Seeking the Christian tutelage," [1]Sociology of Religion, Summer 2002

The archetypal demon of Japanese folklore had always had two faces, being not only a destructive presence but also a potentially protective and tutelary being.

--John W. Dower, [2]War Without Mercy

In its twentieth-century incarnation, then, Western imperialism assumed a tutelary capacity: its benevolent mission was to teach formerly subject peoples the Western art of self-government.

--Charlotte Weber, "Unveiling Scheherazade," [3]Feminist Studies, Spring 2001

Extra

Tutelary derives from Latin tutelaris, from tutela, "protection, guardianship," from tutus, past participle of tueri, "to look at, to regard, especially to look at with care or for the purpose of protection." It is related to tutor.

Paragraph

I’m not sure if I agree with Kwai Hang Ng when he says that God is perceived less as a savior that cleanses one's sins than as a tutelary god who provides guidance and help. When there seems to be no way out, when you know that you are going through punishment for all the sins you have committed, when you lose your most loved ones, you do wish that God forgives you, cleanses your sins and gives you another chance. Yet, eventually God ends up being tutelary and getting us out of the rut we have put ourselves in.