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."
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Fury quickly found rhythm, picking apart Makhmudov's high guard and limited movement with counters, switching between southpaw and orthodox.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Dioceses across the country are reporting the highest amount of converts in decades, many of them drawn in by orthodox Catholic influencers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 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
“A sputtering 60/40 rebalancing engine may allow for a more orthodox context for bond / equity correlations, and higher diversification and hedging benefits of long duration positions in portfolios,” they say.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 9, 2026
Throughout college and graduate school, I thought of myself as an orthodox Catholic.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
