of, relating to, or conforming to the approved form of any doctrine, philosophy, ideology, etc.
of, relating to, or conforming to beliefs, attitudes, or modes of conduct that are generally approved.
customary or conventional, as a means or method; established.
sound or correct in opinion or doctrine, especially theological or religious doctrine.
conforming to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early church.
Orthodox,
of, relating to, or designating the Eastern Church, especially the Greek Orthodox Church.
of, relating to, or characteristic of Orthodox Jews or Orthodox Judaism.
of or relating to the Orthodox Church of the East
(sometimes not capital)
of or relating to Orthodox Judaism
(of an individual Jew) strict in the observance of Talmudic law and in personal devotions
conforming with established or accepted standards, as in religion, behaviour, or attitudes
conforming to the Christian faith as established by the early Church
First recorded in 1575–85; from Late Latin orthodoxus “right in religion,” from Late Greek orthódoxos, equivalent to ortho- ortho- + dóx(a) “belief, opinion” + -os adjective suffix
Orthodox practices or beliefs are generally accepted as true or correct. If you are an orthodox vegetarian, you never, ever eat meat — not like those people who have fish once in a while. When capitalized, Orthodox is the name of the Eastern Church, originally distinguished by its doctrinal differences from the other divisions of the Christian Church. Orthodox is also the name of the branch of Judaism that strictly follows traditional beliefs and customs, derived from orthodox in the earlier meaning of "strictly observant."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Instead, he hammered home a strict, orthodox message on inflation with a strong commitment to price stability.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
His sides have also featured 'inverted full-backs' coming inside to exert control in midfield rather than overlapping in orthodox fashion.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views. The government does not get to decide ‘what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The rising cohorts of women’s-rights campaigners bore less of an imprint of the orthodox Protestantism than those of Stanton’s generation and had no interest in editing the Bible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Black businessmen walked side by side with black orthodox Jews.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Originally inhabited by Alaska Natives, the area was known as Nushagak by 1837, when a Russian Orthodox mission was established there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
He says he has experienced many sides of Russia: working in an Orthodox monastery, staying in a high-rise apartment and later moving into a small Soviet-era flat.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Maybe, then, it is this recent tradition that Mr. Putin is drawing from, not Orthodox theology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery with emblematic golden domes, is venerated by both the Russian and Ukrainian wings of the Orthodox Church as one of their most important spiritual centres.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Orthodox monks smuggled silk out of China in the sixth century.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
