Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for counterreformation. Search instead for concept+formation.

counterreformation

American  
[koun-ter-ref-er-mey-shuhn] / ˈkaʊn tərˌrɛf ərˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. a reformation opposed to or counteracting a previous reformation.


Etymology

Origin of counterreformation

1830–40; counter- + reformation, as translation of German Gegenreformation

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.

In the spirit of the Habsburg counterreformation, ornate churches, Baroque palaces and statues of saints sprung up across the city.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Jerry Brown, onetime Jesuit seminarian, believes that sin is original and selfish instincts natural, and he also suspects that America is experiencing a "counterreformation" � against the expansive governmental policies of past years.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like them, it bears the theological imprint of a reclusive Swiss theologian, Father Hans Urs von Balthasar, who is the intellectual leader of the more moderate elements in the European wing of the counterreformation.

From Time Magazine Archive