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Synonyms

latitudinarian

American  
[lat-i-tood-n-air-ee-uhn, -tyood-] / ˌlæt ɪˌtud nˈɛər i ən, -ˌtyud- /

adjective

  1. allowing or characterized by latitude in opinion or conduct, especially in religious views.


noun

  1. a person who is latitudinarian in opinion or conduct.

  2. Anglican Church.  one of the churchmen in the 17th century who maintained the wisdom of the episcopal form of government and ritual but denied its divine origin and authority.

latitudinarian British  
/ ˌlætɪˌtjuːdɪˈnɛərɪən /

adjective

  1. permitting or marked by freedom of attitude or behaviour, esp in religious matters

  2. (sometimes capital) of or relating to a school of thought within the Church of England in the 17th century that minimized the importance of divine authority in matters of doctrine and stressed the importance of reason and personal judgment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a person with latitudinarian views

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • latitudinarianism noun

Etymology

Origin of latitudinarian

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin lātitūdin- (stem of lātitūdo “breadth, width”; latitudinal ) + -arian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Was James Madison correct that it should dispose us against a latitudinarian interpretation of Congress’s powers?

From Washington Post

The pursuit of perfection is usually foredoomed, but the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, which has a latitudinarian understanding of ethical behavior, has a perfectly awful idea.

From Washington Post

There are a fair number of undramatised biographical passages, which make for bumpy reading, even if one takes a latitudinarian position about the role of information in novelistic prose.

From The Guardian

Those whose creed is of narrower scope are to them hateful bigots; but also those with whom it is of wider are latitudinarians or infidels.

From Project Gutenberg

The trimming character of the latitudinarian, and the violent forwardness of the partisan, would appear to render such a supposition not unreasonable.

From Project Gutenberg