creed

[kreed]

noun

1. any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination.

   Synonyms: dogma, credo, conviction, faith

2. any system or codification of belief or of opinion.

   Synonyms: dogma, credo, conviction, faith

3. an authoritative, formulated statement of the chief articles of Christian belief, as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian Creed.

4. the creed. Apostles' Creed.

creed

¹

/ kriːd /

noun

1. a concise, formal statement of the essential articles of Christian belief, such as the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed

2. any statement or system of beliefs or principles

Creed

²

/ kriːd /

noun

1. Frederick. 1871–1957, Canadian inventor, resident in Scotland from 1897, noted for his invention of the teleprinter, first used in 1912

Other Word Forms

• creedal adjective
• credal adjective
• creeded adjective
• creedless adjective
• creedlessness noun
• precreed noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of creed¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English crede, Old English crēda, from Latin crēdō “I believe”; credo

Word History and Origins

Origin of creed¹

Old English crēda, from Latin crēdo I believe

Example Sentences

Therrien’s generic chapel stands not for any particular denomination or specific religious creed, but simply for the common reality of established doctrine operating throughout daily life.

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It was the creed that President Abraham Lincoln placed at the center of our national identity.

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Jefferson’s Declaration established with “theological lucidity” that any person who shares its creed can be or become an American.

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It is no accident of history that those creeds and movements that reject capitalism—Nazism, Soviet communism, radical Islam—also feature noxious antisemitism.

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Huntington wrote that America’s initial elements of identity were race, ethnicity, culture and creed.

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Related Words

• doctrine 
• dogma 
• faith 
• ideology 
• persuasion 
• profession 
• religion 
• tenet