catechize

American  

[kat-i-kahyz] / ˈkæt ɪˌkaɪz /

especially British, catechise

verb (used with object)

catechized, catechizing

1. to instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.

2. to question with reference to belief.

3. to question closely.

   Synonyms:

   probe, examine, quiz, interrogate

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catechize British  

/ ˈkætɪˌkaɪz /

verb

1. to teach or examine by means of questions and answers

2. to give oral instruction in Christianity, esp by using a catechism

3. to put questions to (someone)

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Other Word Forms

• catechist noun
• catechistic adjective
• catechistically adverb
• catechizable adjective
• catechization noun
• catechizer noun
• uncatechized adjective

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

Example Sentences

Then the Cardinal began to catechize the priest who had once been an assistant to his secretariat.

From Time Magazine Archive

I must catechize you for it, madonna: Good my mouse of virtue, answer me.

From Twelfth Night or, What You Will by Kemble, J P

All the planters, questioned upon the subject, were willing to give the missionary access to their servants, to preach and catechize, not only on the Sabbath, but during the week.

From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.

He has forbidden them to go out as they ought to the visitas, and to confess, preach, and catechize.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume 41 of 55, 1691-1700 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by Blair, Emma Helen

Therefore to catechize and to exorcize do not belong to the office of the priests, but rather to that of the ministers.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint