Pietism

[ pahy-i-tiz-uhm ]

/ ˈpaɪ ɪˌtɪz əm /

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See synonyms for Pietism on Thesaurus.com

noun

a movement, originating in the Lutheran Church in Germany in the 17th century, that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy.

the principles and practices of the Pietists.

(lowercase) intensity of religious devotion or feeling.

(lowercase) exaggeration or affectation of piety.

OTHER WORDS FOR Pietism

4 sanctimony.

See synonyms for Pietism on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of Pietism

1690–1700; <German Pietismus<Latin piet(ās) piety + German -ismus-ism

OTHER WORDS FROM Pietism

Pi·e·tist, nounpi·e·tis·tic, pi·e·tis·ti·cal, adjectivepi·e·tis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Pietism in a sentence

Pecuniary profit he had never sought, and its pursuit he scorned.196 His views were dynamico-organic, pietistic, and antagonistic.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine|Roswell Park
As long as the work was mostly in country villages the preaching was naturally of the Pietistic type.
History of the Moravian Church|J. E. Hutton
It shows that there is some individuality developed among them, and that they will not become too exclusively pietistic.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864|Various
High office could only be acquired by becoming a servile instrument of the pietistic party, which was headed by the king.
The Prussian Terror|Alexandre Dumas

He never stooped to pietistic clap-trap, or chanted the jaunty chauvinism that has so often caused the Hoosier stars to blink.
Atlantic Classics|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Pietism (1 of 2)

pietism

/ (ˈpaɪɪˌtɪzəm) /

noun

a less common word for piety

excessive, exaggerated, or affected piety or saintliness

Derived forms of pietism

pietist, nounpietistic or pietistical, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Pietism (2 of 2)

Pietism

/ (ˈpaɪɪˌtɪzəm) /

noun

history a reform movement in the German Lutheran Churches during the 17th and 18th centuries that strove to renew the devotional ideal

Derived forms of Pietism

Pietist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012