Manichaeism

British  

/ ˈmænɪkiːˌɪzəm /

noun

1. the system of religious doctrines, including elements of Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc, taught by the Persian prophet Mani about the 3rd century _ad . It was based on a supposed primordial conflict between light and darkness or goodness and evil

2. RC Church any similar heretical philosophy involving a radical dualism

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Manichee
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Manichaeism

C14: from Late Latin Manichaeus, from Late Greek Manikhaios of Mani

Example Sentences

Manichaeism was the chief competitor of Catholic Christianity in Late Antiquity until the arrival of Islam.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

In 779 C.E., rebels opposed to Manichaeism killed Bögü Qaghan.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 13, 2023

I’d like to believe I wasn’t susceptible to the Manichaeism of good guys and bad guys, but I took the meeting.

From Slate • Dec. 16, 2020

There’s plenty of bleak to go around in “Broken City,” yet there is also more tonal variation and a worldview that hews toward human complexity rather than toward comic-book Manichaeism.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2013

This old-world wisdom of the Hindus, a thousand years before our era, is worthily to be paralleled from the Manichaeism of about the year 400.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various