Methodist

American  

[meth-uh-dist] / ˈmɛθ ə dɪst /

noun

Methodists plural

1. a member of the largest Christian denomination that grew out of the revival of religion led by John Wesley: stresses both personal and social morality and has an Arminian doctrine and, in the U.S., a modified episcopal polity.

2. (lowercase) a person who relies greatly or excessively on methods or a particular method.

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adjective

1. Also Methodistic, Methodistical. of or relating to the Methodists or Methodism.

Methodist British  

/ ˈmɛθədɪst /

noun

1. a member of any of the Nonconformist denominations that derive from the system of faith and practice initiated by John Wesley and his followers

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adjective

1. of or relating to Methodism or the Church embodying it (the Methodist Church )

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• non-Methodist
  noun
• anti-Methodist
  adjective
• non-Methodistic
  adjective
• pre-Methodist
  adjective
• pro-Methodist
  adjective
• pseudo-Methodist
  adjective
• Methodistically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Methodists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Methodist

First recorded in 1585–95; method + -ist

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Methodist Methodists

As the head of a 24,000-member Methodist megachurch in a deeply conservative, rural area of Kansas, Hamilton would typically fit the profile of a right-wing Republican Christian.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

The cover of “Communion” eschews the grandeur of a Catholic cathedral, in favor of a photograph of a humble Methodist chapel in a rural part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Carol Kemp, 64, is among a growing number of people receiving meals from the Centenary Methodist Church in Boston, Lincolnshire, according to volunteers.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

Co-author Michael Polcyn from Southern Methodist University said the discovery expands understanding of both the animals themselves and the ancient ecosystems they inhabited.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

I thought at first that it was the Methodist minister.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

The mainline is a collection of long-established Protestant denominations: the Episcopalians, United Methodists, Presbyterians and so on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Francis worked with Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists and persuaded the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to join him to pray for peace.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2025

Pacific Palisades, founded by Methodists, was a “Christian community” with modern amenities “where the mountains met the coast.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025

The question is particularly acute in Africa, home to the vast majority of United Methodists outside the U.S.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024

But about ten families, German Methodists from western Pennsylvania around Pittsburgh, hoping to realize the utopian community so grandly talked about, did arrive.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger