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• catholic
  catholic

  adjective

  broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.
• Catholic
  Catholic

  adjective

  of or relating to a Catholic church, especially the Roman Catholic Church.

catholic

¹ American  

[kath-uh-lik, kath-lik] / ˈkæθ ə lɪk, ˈkæθ lɪk /

adjective

1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.

2. universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all.

3. pertaining to the whole Christian body or church.

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Catholic ² American  

[kath-uh-lik, kath-lik] / ˈkæθ ə lɪk, ˈkæθ lɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a Catholic church, especially the Roman Catholic Church.

2. Theology.

   1. (among Roman Catholics) claiming to possess exclusively the notes or characteristics of the one, only, true, and universal church having unity, visibility, indefectibility, apostolic succession, universality, and sanctity: used in this sense, with these qualifications, only by the Church of Rome, as applicable only to itself and its adherents and to their faith and organization; often qualified, especially by those not acknowledging these claims, by prefixing the word Roman.

   2. (among Anglo-Catholics) noting or pertaining to the conception of the church as the body representing the ancient undivided Christian witness, comprising all the orthodox churches that have kept the apostolic succession of bishops, and including the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Church of Sweden, the Old Catholic Church (in the Netherlands and elsewhere), etc.

3. pertaining to the Western Church.

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noun

• Catholics
  plural

1. a member of a Catholic church, especially of the Roman Catholic Church.

Catholic ¹ British  

/ ˈkæθlɪk, ˈkæθəlɪk /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the entire body of Christians, esp to the Church before separation into the Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western Churches

2. denoting or relating to the Latin or Western Church after this separation

3. denoting or relating to the Roman Catholic Church

4. denoting or relating to any church, belief, etc, that claims continuity with or originates in the ancient undivided Church

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noun

1. a member of any of the Churches regarded as Catholic, esp the Roman Catholic Church

catholic ² British  

/ ˈkæθəlɪk, ˈkæθlɪk /

adjective

1. universal; relating to all men; all-inclusive

2. comprehensive in interests, tastes, etc; broad-minded; liberal

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• catholicalness
  noun
• catholicness
  noun
• anti-Catholic
  adjective
• non-Catholic
  adjective
• pro-Catholic
  adjective
• pseudo-Catholic
  adjective
• supercatholic
  adjective
• uncatholic
  adjective
• catholically
  adverb
• catholicly
  adverb
• pseudocatholically
  adverb
• supercatholically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Catholics
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of catholic¹

First recorded in 1300–1350; Middle English, from Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikós “general,” from kathól(ou) “universally” (contraction of phrase katà hólou “according to the whole”; see cata-, holo-) + -ikos -ic

Origin of Catholic²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; special use of catholic

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Explanation

When capitalized, Catholic refers to the Catholic Church. With a lower-case "c," catholic means "universal" and "inclusive." If you listen to anything from hip-hop to Baroque, you have catholic taste in music. When it entered the English language in the sixteenth century, catholic simply meant "general" or "common." Applied to the Western Church, it essentially meant "the Church universal," or the whole body of Christian believers, as opposed to separate congregations. After the Reformation, the Western Church called itself the Catholic Church to distinguish itself from communities of faith that were no longer obedient to Rome. This usage remains the most common, although you can still use catholic to mean general.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catholic Catholic Catholics

Church officials have said that they do not expect an impact to diocese-run elementary and high schools along with catholic charities and other area affiliates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025

He went on to become the king of the 1980s TV mini-series, playing a western prisoner in Shogun and a catholic priest tempted by love in The Thorn Birds.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025

When she spoke to wide audiences, her language was careful and catholic; one often had the sense that she was trying to say as little as possible beyond her talking points.

From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2024

Last week, a catholic priest at a West Side parish cited Flacco’s unforeseen arrival while giving his sermon during a Mass to celebrate the Epiphany.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024

But a strange and catholic selection of citizens tiptoed to the chapel door and peered in and went away—lawyers and laborers and clerks and bank tellers, most of them past middle age.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

A Catholic prison deacon, Ronnie Lastovica, orchestrated the meetings because he saw commonalities between the two groups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

For Tedesco, who grew up Catholic in a small town, it was important to create a space on campus for Christian representation, where students like her could incorporate their faith in day-to-day life and community.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

El-Sayed asked before paraphrasing John F. Kennedy’s famous line about whether his Catholic faith would make him allegiant to the pope.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

There are five steps in the process to achieving sainthood in the Catholic Church, some of which can take many years, and this campaign is at a very early stage.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

“We’re a bunch of towns away; we’re not the closest Catholic school for anybody to go to,” said Jeff.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

The estrangement between Orthodox Christians and Catholics is a scandal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The news has shaken Catholics worldwide, many of whom will have recent memories of Pope Francis's hospital visits.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Peru rejoiced last year when a man it claims as its own was made leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Leo was elected leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8, 2025.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

The informal touches; the handshaking; the folk music; the insistence upon union—all these changes are aimed at serving Catholics who no longer live in a Catholic world.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

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