Protestant

American  

[prot-uh-stuhnt, pruh-tes-tuhnt] / ˈprɒt ə stənt, prəˈtɛs tənt /

noun

Protestants plural

1. any Western Christian who is not an adherent of a Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Church.

2. an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them, usually excluding the Anabaptists.

3. (originally) any of the German princes who protested against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which had denounced the Reformation.

4. protestant, a person who protests.

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adjective

1. belonging or relating to Protestants or their religion.

2. protestant. protesting.

Protestant British  

/ ˈprɒtɪstənt /

noun

1. 1. an adherent of Protestantism

   2. ( as modifier )

      the Protestant Church

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Protestant Cultural  

1. A Christian belonging to one of the three great divisions of Christianity (the other two are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church). Protestantism began during the Renaissance as a protest against the established (Roman Catholic) church (see also established church). That protest, led by Martin Luther, was called the Reformation, because it sprang from a desire to reform the church and cleanse it of corruption, such as the selling of indulgences.

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Protestants hold a great variety of beliefs, but they are united in rejecting the authority of the pope. Protestant groups include the Amish, the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God, the Baptists, Christian Science, the Congregationalists, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonites, the Methodists, the Presbyterian Church, and the Quakers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Protestant
  adjective
• non-Protestant
  adjective
• pro-Protestant
  adjective
• unprotestant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Protestants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Protestant

First recorded in 1530–40; from French or German, from Latin prōtestantēs “bearing public witness,” plural of present participle of prōtestārī “to bear public witness”; see protest

Explanation

The adjective protestant describes a person or thing that is protesting or displaying disapproval or objection. You might see protestant young students marching in front of the capital in reaction to the government's newly passed bill. Protestant originates from the Latin word protestari, meaning "declare publicly, testify, protest," which combines pro meaning "forth, before," and testari meaning "testify." A protestant person typically is someone making a public declaration against something he opposes. The protestant residents in your city are against the plan to develop businesses on the waterfront. You were being protestant when you questioned your professor's grading policy in front of the entire class.

Example Sentences

An influential Protestant church in China has said two of its leaders were detained after more than dozens of congregants, including children, were rounded up for interrogation.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

Of those 31 categories, 22 are variations of Christianity, most major Protestant denominations.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

The National Council of Churches managed, over the course of the 20th century, to evacuate Protestant doctrine and sentiment from the most Protestant country on earth.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

For years, Jin built a thriving Protestant congregation in the heart of Beijing, known as Zion Church, that operated outside the government’s system of tightly controlled official churches.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

In late summer 1851, James enrolled at a new co-educational school started by the Disciples of Christ, the Protestant church of his parents.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow