catechize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.
-
to question with reference to belief.
-
to question closely.
- Synonyms:
- probe, examine, quiz, interrogate
verb
-
to teach or examine by means of questions and answers
-
to give oral instruction in Christianity, esp by using a catechism
-
to put questions to (someone)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catechize
1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin catēchizāre < Greek katēchízein to make (someone) learn by teaching orally, equivalent to katēch ( eîn ) to teach orally ( see catechist) + -izein -ize
Vocabulary lists containing catechize
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.
See Examples For:
Then the Cardinal began to catechize the priest who had once been an assistant to his secretariat.
From Time Magazine Archive
Neither of them ever made a public profession of religion, but they were careful to observe external ordinances, catechize their children, and give religious instruction.
From War Inconsistent with the Religion of Jesus Christ by Dodge, David Low
There was service again in the afternoon, when the very reverend gentleman was wont to catechize.
From Pretty Michal by Jókai, Mór
But the worst will be to catechize us as if we were witnesses in court.
From The Brightener by Williamson, A. M. (Alice Muriel)
You catechize me too closely," replied Netz, confused, "tell me rather--to come to something else--what is the matter between you and Christopher Friend?
From Specimens of German Romance Vol. I. The Patricians by Velde, Carl Franz van der
I was, in my view, blessed to be raised in the church and catechized as a little kid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“This exchange had catechized Julian on several points,” Ava thinks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2020
While they ate, they catechized her on her opinions, and were delighted to find that she believed in God and expected to vote Conservative when she was twenty-one.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 2, 2012
Dr. G. A. Huntley of the Chinese mission field asserted that 49 out of 50 missionaries in China would resign rather than submit to being catechized as to their faith.
From Time Magazine Archive
While we were there, a large class of boys were being catechized, in the French tongue; again and again the answers would come in loud monotone.
From A Flight in Spring In the car Lucania from New York to the Pacific coast and back, during April and May, 1898 by Knowles, J. Harris (John Harris)
A Clergyman engaged in catechizing a village school, asked a youngster, “what his godfathers and godmothers did for him?”
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2018
They ceased catechizing their teacher, and behaved with some approach to decent order.
From Loyal to the School by Brazil, Angela
But she doesn't fancy catechizing him about his experiences in the night, neither.
From Somehow Good by De Morgan, William Frend
They were to spend themselves in the service of their neighbor, instructing, catechizing and exhorting; and they were to take nothing in return for their labors.
From Life of St. Vincent de Paul by Forbes, F. A. (Frances Alice)
I flared with a childish resentment at this catechizing of his.
From Masterpieces of Mystery, Vol. 1 (of 4) Ghost Stories by French, Joseph Lewis
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.
