Pentecostal

[pen-ti-kaw-stuhl, -stl, -kos-tuhl, -tl-]

adjective

1. of or relating to Pentecost, a Christian festival commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles.

2. noting or relating to any of various Christian groups, usually fundamentalist, that emphasize the activity of the Holy Spirit, stress holiness of living, and express their religious feelings uninhibitedly, as by speaking in tongues.

noun

1. Also called Pentecostalist. a member of any Pentecostal denomination.

Pentecostal

/ ˌpɛntɪˈkɒstəl /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) of or relating to any of various Christian groups that emphasize the charismatic aspects of Christianity and adopt a fundamental attitude to the Bible

2. of or relating to Pentecost or the influence of the Holy Ghost

noun

1. a member of a Pentecostal Church

Other Word Forms

• post-Pentecostal adjective
• Pentecostalist noun
• Pentecostalism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pentecostal¹

From the Late Latin word pentēcostālis, dating back to 1540–50. See Pentecost, -al ¹

Example Sentences

His still-strong tenor was reserved for belting gospel songs at the Pentecostal church he attended.

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Growing up in a slum of Washington, D.C., he had inherited his father’s harsh Pentecostal Christianity and his notions of discipline, heaven and hell.

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A Pentecostal church in East Los Angeles has lost nearly half of its in-person membership.

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She was a showperson, a radio star, a publisher and writer, a beloved figure and a celebrity — hard to achieve as a Pentecostal preacher in the early 20th century.

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Raised in a largely non-practising, evangelical household, Vance spent part of his adolescence drawn to a Pentecostal church, only to later abandon organised religion altogether.

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