Anabaptist
Americannoun
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a member or descendant of a member of any of various Christian sects formed in Europe after 1520 that denied the validity of infant baptism, baptized believers only, emphasized simplicity and nonviolence, and advocated social and economic reforms as well as the complete separation of church and state.
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Archaic. Baptist.
adjective
noun
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a member of any of various 16th-century Protestant movements that rejected infant baptism, insisted that adults be rebaptized, and sought to establish Christian communism
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a member of a later Protestant sect holding the same doctrines, esp with regard to baptism
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Anabaptist
First recorded in 1525–35; from New Latin anabaptista, from Medieval Latin anabapt(īzāre) “to rebaptize,” from Late Greek anabaptī́zein; see ana-, baptize + -ista -ist
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.
Obedience doesn’t come easily to the freethinking and endearingly eccentric title character in this beautifully observed novel set within linked Anabaptist communities around the Great Plains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and the Anabaptist leaders were true believers in the doctrines they espoused.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
He made a haunting point last summer when I saw him speak in New York State at a conference at a Bruderhof community, which has roots in the Anabaptist tradition.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
“We are thankful to God that three more hostages were released last night,” said the statement from Christian Aid Ministries, an Anabaptist missions organization based in Berlin, Ohio.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2021
“Chaplain, I once studied Latin. I think it’s only fair to warn you of that before I ask my next question. Doesn’t the word Anabaptist simply mean that you’re not a Baptist?”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
