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fundamentalism

[ fuhn-duh-men-tl-iz-uhm ]

noun

  1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a religious movement characterized by a strict belief in the literal interpretation of religious texts, especially within American Protestantism and Islam.
  2. the beliefs held by those in this movement.
  3. strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles:

    the fundamentalism of the extreme conservatives.



fundamentalism

/ ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəˌlɪzəm /

noun

  1. Christianity (esp among certain Protestant sects) the belief that every word of the Bible is divinely inspired and therefore true
  2. Islam a movement favouring strict observance of the teachings of the Koran and Islamic law
  3. strict adherence to the fundamental principles of any set of beliefs
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


fundamentalism

  1. A conservative movement in theology among nineteenth- and twentieth-century Christians (see also Christian ). Fundamentalists believe that the statements in the Bible (see also Bible ) are literally true.


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Notes

Fundamentalists often argue against the theory of evolution . ( See Scopes trial .)
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Derived Forms

  • ˌfundaˈmentalist, nounadjective
  • ˌfundaˌmentalˈistic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • funda·mental·ist noun adjective
  • anti·funda·mental·ism noun
  • anti·funda·mental·ist noun adjective
  • nonfun·da·mental·ist noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fundamentalism1

1920–25, Americanism; fundamental + -ism; originally in reference to the American Protestant fundamentalism movement, which arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in reaction to modernism
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Example Sentences

The shifting sands beneath our feet have a much longer history, as Lepore summarized in that article, that includes postmodernism, relativism, and fundamentalism.

From Time

It talks about radicalization as well as fundamentalism—and the dangers of that.

The lines of fundamentalism are blurrier today than what they once were.

The two-state solution being the driving force behind Islamic fundamentalism, of course.

And, where those cannot be achieved, at least a base-level opposition to tyranny, reaction, religious fundamentalism, and so on.

“Fundamentalism will not win, even if they say, ‘Allahu akbar’ all day long,” her mother told Bennoune.

By some such stubborn tendency toward error Fundamentalism in our day is moving back toward spiritual slavery.

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