catholic

¹ American  

[kath-uh-lik, kath-lik] / ˈkæθ ə lɪk, ˈkæθ lɪk /

adjective

1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.

2. universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all.

3. pertaining to the whole Christian body or church.

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Catholic ² American  

[kath-uh-lik, kath-lik] / ˈkæθ ə lɪk, ˈkæθ lɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a Catholic church, especially the Roman Catholic Church.

2. Theology.

   1. (among Roman Catholics) claiming to possess exclusively the notes or characteristics of the one, only, true, and universal church having unity, visibility, indefectibility, apostolic succession, universality, and sanctity: used in this sense, with these qualifications, only by the Church of Rome, as applicable only to itself and its adherents and to their faith and organization; often qualified, especially by those not acknowledging these claims, by prefixing the word Roman.

   2. (among Anglo-Catholics) noting or pertaining to the conception of the church as the body representing the ancient undivided Christian witness, comprising all the orthodox churches that have kept the apostolic succession of bishops, and including the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Church of Sweden, the Old Catholic Church (in the Netherlands and elsewhere), etc.

3. pertaining to the Western Church.

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noun

1. a member of a Catholic church, especially of the Roman Catholic Church.

Catholic ¹ British  

/ ˈkæθlɪk, ˈkæθəlɪk /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the entire body of Christians, esp to the Church before separation into the Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western Churches

2. denoting or relating to the Latin or Western Church after this separation

3. denoting or relating to the Roman Catholic Church

4. denoting or relating to any church, belief, etc, that claims continuity with or originates in the ancient undivided Church

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noun

1. a member of any of the Churches regarded as Catholic, esp the Roman Catholic Church

catholic ² British  

/ ˈkæθəlɪk, kəˈθɒlɪklɪ, ˈkæθlɪk /

adjective

1. universal; relating to all men; all-inclusive

2. comprehensive in interests, tastes, etc; broad-minded; liberal

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Other Word Forms

• anti-Catholic adjective
• catholically adverb
• catholicalness noun
• catholicly adverb
• catholicness noun
• non-Catholic adjective
• pro-Catholic adjective
• pseudo-Catholic adjective
• pseudocatholically adverb
• supercatholic adjective
• supercatholically adverb
• uncatholic adjective

Etymology

Origin of catholic¹

First recorded in 1300–1350; Middle English, from Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikós “general,” from kathól(ou) “universally” (contraction of phrase katà hólou “according to the whole”; cata-, holo- ) + -ikos -ic

Origin of Catholic²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; special use of catholic

Explanation

When capitalized, Catholic refers to the Catholic Church. With a lower-case "c," catholic means "universal" and "inclusive." If you listen to anything from hip-hop to Baroque, you have catholic taste in music. When it entered the English language in the sixteenth century, catholic simply meant "general" or "common." Applied to the Western Church, it essentially meant "the Church universal," or the whole body of Christian believers, as opposed to separate congregations. After the Reformation, the Western Church called itself the Catholic Church to distinguish itself from communities of faith that were no longer obedient to Rome. This usage remains the most common, although you can still use catholic to mean general.

Example Sentences

Not every editor is quite as catholic with a little c, as ecumenical, as excited about such a range of writing as I am.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

When she spoke to wide audiences, her language was careful and catholic; one often had the sense that she was trying to say as little as possible beyond her talking points.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 2024

Last week, a catholic priest at a West Side parish cited Flacco’s unforeseen arrival while giving his sermon during a Mass to celebrate the Epiphany.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 12, 2024

While many in the deeply catholic Colombia have referred to the children's rescue as a "miracle", Mr Rufino, the indigenous expert, said the real story lay in their "spiritual connection with nature".

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2023

The words st. peter’s catholic chaplaincy, university OF Nigeria seemed to twinkle as Amaka and I walked into the incense-scented church.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie