dogma

American  

[dawg-muh, dog-] / ˈdɔg mə, ˈdɒg- /

noun

dogmas, plural dogmata plural

1. an official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church.

   Synonyms:

   philosophy, doctrine

2. a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church.

   the dogma of the Assumption;

   the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility.

   Synonyms:

   law, canon, tenet

3. prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group.

   the difficulty of resisting political dogma.

4. a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle.

   the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation.

   Synonyms:

   certainty, conviction

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dogma British  

/ ˈdɒɡmə /

noun

1. a religious doctrine or system of doctrines proclaimed by ecclesiastical authority as true

2. a belief, principle, or doctrine or a code of beliefs, principles, or doctrines

   Marxist dogma

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dogma Cultural  

1. A teaching or set of teachings laid down by a religious group, usually as part of the essential beliefs of the group.

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Pop Culture

— Dogma: A film written and directed by Kevin Smith, released in 1999. —Dogma 95: A movement in cinema started by Danish director Lars von Trier in 1995, which established filmmaking constraints such as no use of special effects.

Discover More

The term dogma is often applied to statements put forward by someone who thinks, inappropriately, that they should be accepted without proof.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dogmas
  plural
• dogmata
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dogma

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin: “philosophical tenet, principle, dogma,” from Greek dógma “what seems good, opinion, belief, (in philosophy) doctrine; decision, public decree, ordinance,” equivalent to dok(eîn) “to expect, think, seem, seem good, pretend” + -ma noun suffix

Explanation

Dogma means the doctrine of belief in a religion or a political system. The literal meaning of dogma in ancient Greek was "something that seems true." These days, in English, dogma is more absolute. If you believe in a certain religion or philosophy, you believe in its dogma, or core assumptions. If you belong to a cult that believes that cupcake consumption is the only true path, then you follow the cupcake dogma. Dogma, once adopted, is accepted without question. Go eat cupcakes!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dogma dogmas dogmata

"This challenges the dogma that calorie reduction is necessary to lose weight, but it also tells us that we need to have clear understanding of the mechanisms," he said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

This is a refreshing change from the dogma of the past several years.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

Thus, he dared to break with long-held dogma that the economy would overheat and spark runaway inflation if allowed to grow at a sustained rate of much above 2.5% per year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Mr. Schaller upended the dogma by observing animals in their own habitats, arriving at the critical awareness that to maintain a healthy planet we must manage whole ecosystems, not individual species.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

The ultimate demise of the Clovis dogma was inevitable, David Henige, author of Numbers from Nowhere, told me.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

In the Middle East, the dogmas of the past are inadequate to the stormy present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

"It is up to all of us to preserve confidence in our democratic coexistence," he said, adding: "In democracy, one's own ideas can never be dogmas; nor can those of others be threats."

From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025

And speaking at the FDA was not just a matter, for these figures, of challenging conventional dogmas, but of boosting their own reputations, sometimes to the benefit of their own finances and audiences.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2025

In “Succession,” “Ozark” and to lesser extent, “Better Call Saul,” the prisons are a bit more DIY, a combination of unfortunate circumstances twisted into something worse by certain dogmas of family, power, identity and legacy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2022

Students are taught—what I never had to be taught—that religion is not simply a matter of dogmas or theological truths; that religion involves a person’s whole way of life.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

The foregoing considerations may be summed up in the form of three dogmata, all of which orthodox Christianity teaches.

From Monophysitism Past and Present A Study in Christology by Luce, A. A. (Arthur Aston)

Father Eustace also dealt forth with well-meant kindness those apophthegms and dogmata of consolation, which friendship almost always offers to grief, though they are uniformly offered in vain.

From The Monastery by Scott, Walter, Sir

Further, Schwenkfeld supplied him with the germs of a transcendental exegesis, whereby the Christian Scriptures and the dogmata of Lutheran orthodoxy were opened up in harmony with his new-found views.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 1 "Bisharin" to "Bohea" by Various

This creed formulates its relation to Scripture over and over, as the one regula by which all dogmata are to be tried.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 6 "Dodwell" to "Drama" by Various

The dogmata of temporal power, and spiritual power, incessantly assailed by these floods of light, could not be long without being shaken, first in the human mind and afterwards in things, to the very foundations.

From History of the Girondists, Volume I Personal Memoirs of the Patriots of the French Revolution by Ryde, H. T.

Related Words

• credo
• creed
• doctrine
• gospel
• precept
• teachings
• tenet