catechize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.
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to question with reference to belief.
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to question closely.
- Synonyms:
- probe, examine, quiz, interrogate
verb
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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
You could not tell me her name: all you had to go on was a voice, and I could hardly catechize him on that.
From The Gay Adventure A Romance by Bird, Richard
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
Therefore it belongs not to the priestly office to catechize and exorcize.
From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
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
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
So early in the morning was it and so unprepared were newsmen for such a development that Governor Young, unrecognized, entered and left the White House without being caught and catechized.
From Time Magazine Archive
Realizing that he was being catechized, Trent replied guardedly.
From Caravans By Night A Romance of India by Hervey, Harry
A Clergyman engaged in catechizing a village school, asked a youngster, “what his godfathers and godmothers did for him?”
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2018
What is the use of your preaching sermons and catechizing the young, if the Bible at home is a sufficient guide for your people?
From The Faith of Our Fathers by Gibbons, James
A surly man would not perhaps have answered at all, resenting this catechizing; but Christopher was not surly, and not at all offended.
From A Red Wallflower by Warner, Susan
I am not catechizing you,' said Pitt, half laughing.
From A Red Wallflower by Warner, Susan
He realized that, besides the Large Catechism, parents were in need of a text-book containing questions and answers, adapted for catechizing the children on the meaning of each part of the Catechism.
From Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by Bente, F. (Friedrich)
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.
