orthodoxy
Americannoun
plural
orthodoxies-
orthodox belief or practice.
-
orthodox character.
noun
-
orthodox belief or practice
-
the quality of being orthodox
Other Word Forms
- antiorthodoxy noun
- hyperorthodoxy noun
- pro-orthodoxy adjective
- unorthodoxy noun
Etymology
Origin of orthodoxy
1620–30; < Late Latin orthodoxia < Greek orthodoxía right opinion, equivalent to orthódox ( os ) ( orthodox ) + -ia -y 3
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Explanation
A widely accepted belief or theory is an orthodoxy. You could call the scientific theory of gravity an orthodoxy, since it's generally considered to be an established fact. The word orthodoxy comes from the Greek root words orthos, which means right, true or straight, and doxa, opinion. So orthodoxy describes the one true opinion. The noun orthodoxy, pronounced "OR-thuh-dock-see," is most commonly used to talk about religious beliefs. When you conform to the orthodoxy of a particular religion, you follow its accepted doctrines, like a Christian's belief in an all-powerful God.
Vocabulary lists containing orthodoxy
"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell
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Darius the Great Is Not Okay
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"American Flag Stands for Tolerance" by Ronald J. Allen
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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.
“But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
What they found upended decades of economic orthodoxy: After New Jersey’s minimum wage rose, fast-food employment actually increased relative to levels seen in Pennsylvania.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
The law is “a legal capstone meant to send a signal throughout the system” about the new orthodoxy on ethnic policy, said James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
If appointed cabinet secretary, Dame Antonia is not a civil servant who would hide in the shadows and her supporters say she is a "disrupter" who can challenge Whitehall orthodoxy.
From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026
For to preserve the old orthodoxy it would have been necessary to insist that the world’s land masses were confined to one hemisphere.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
