Mahdi
Americannoun
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Mahdis
plural
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the Muslim messiah, an expected spiritual and temporal ruler destined to establish a reign of righteousness throughout the world.
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any of various claimants to this role, especially Muhammad Ahmed, who established an independent government in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan that lasted until 1898.
noun
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the title assumed by Mohammed Ahmed. ?1843–85, Sudanese military leader, who led a revolt against Egypt (1881) and captured Khartoum (1885)
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Islam any of a number of Muslim messiahs expected to convert all mankind to Islam
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Mahdi
First recorded in 1790–1800, Mahdi is from the Arabic word mahdīy he who is guided
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:
“Iran has a hybrid strategy in the current war,” wrote Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior advisor to Iran’s chief negotiator, in a post on X.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
"If the semiconductor industry wants to succeed with 2D materials, the active layer and the insulating layer must be designed together from the very beginning," emphasizes Mahdi Pourfath.
From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026
Others like Mahdi Mohaddes, a 41-year-old engineer, echoed her sentiment.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
“We are stuck between two outcomes, each of them worse than the other,” said Mahdi Ghuloom, a fellow at the ORF Middle East think tank in Bahrain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
On the empty stage, the Prophet, the Mahdi, Fard Muhammad, stands behind the podium.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Mahdis now lives in Irvine, Calif., teaches English as a second language, and is pursuing a master’s degree.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2020
Mahdis was born in Iowa and grew up in California.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2020
Already various Mahdis had made their appearance; several had been highly successful, and two, in medieval times, had founded dynasties in Egypt.
From Eminent Victorians by Giles Lytton Strachey
The Mahdis who have arisen in Mohammedan Africa, and other Moslem prophets, have produced wonderful phenomena of this kind.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by William Graham Sumner
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
