syncretic

American  

[sin-kret-ik] / sɪnˈkrɛt ɪk /

Also syncretistic rarely syncretical

adjective

1. combining or bringing together different philosophical, religious, or cultural principles and practices.

   The Afro-Brazilian religion is syncretic, mingling the pantheon, practices, and beliefs brought to South America by enslaved Yorubans with the Catholicism of colonial European culture.

   Exceptional syncretic murals can be found at the site, the work of Indigenous artists who struggled with and adapted unfamiliar European subject matter after the Spanish Conquest.

2. Grammar. relating to or describing the merging of two or more inflectional categories into one.

   When word forms in a paradigm are syncretic, they can result in grammatical ambiguity because one form can have multiple functions.

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Etymology

Origin of syncretic

syncret(ism) ( def. ) + -ic

Example Sentences

They tapped into the island’s deep, syncretic, Afro-Cuban culture, criticized harsh living conditions and gave voice to people’s resentment of daily censorship and the pain of families whose loved ones emigrated.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

The ritual is syncretic -- blending Mayan and Catholic traditions.

From Barron's • Oct. 22, 2025

As Portuguese Catholic colonists brought African slaves to Brazil, the enslaved men and women developed syncretic blends of their traditional religions with Catholicism, now practiced by a small minority of Brazilians.

From Seattle Times • May 15, 2024

It’s a reminder that Catholic ritual in Latin America is often a syncretic interpretation of existing Indigenous rite.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2023

Here they acquired a life of their own through practical experiences characteristic of the syncretic phase of human practical experiences, mostly rituals.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai