Manichaeism
Britishnoun
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the system of religious doctrines, including elements of Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc, taught by the Persian prophet Mani about the 3rd century ad . It was based on a supposed primordial conflict between light and darkness or goodness and evil
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RC Church any similar heretical philosophy involving a radical dualism
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Manichaeism
C14: from Late Latin Manichaeus, from Late Greek Manikhaios of Mani
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.
Manichaeism was the chief competitor of Catholic Christianity in Late Antiquity until the arrival of Islam.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
That was during the reign of Tengri Bögü Qaghan, a Uyghur monarch who converted to Manichaeism, a religion that views existence as an epic struggle between good and evil.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 13, 2023
I’d like to believe I wasn’t susceptible to the Manichaeism of good guys and bad guys, but I took the meeting.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2020
A million people lived within Chang’an’s pounded-earth walls, including travelers and traders from Central, Southeast, South and Northeast Asia and followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity and Manichaeism.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2020
As the trading capital was still placed with the temples as banks, the government attacked the religion of the Uighurs, Manichaeism, and also the religions of the other foreigners, Mazdaism, Nestorianism, and apparently also Islam.
From A History of China by Eberhard, Wolfram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
