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• presbyterian
  presbyterian

  adjective

  pertaining to or based on the principle of ecclesiastical government by presbyters or presbyteries.
• Presbyterian
  Presbyterian

  adjective

  of or relating to any of various Protestant Churches governed by presbyters or lay elders and adhering to various modified forms of Calvinism

presbyterian

American  

[prez-bi-teer-ee-uhn, pres-] / ˌprɛz bɪˈtɪər i ən, ˌprɛs- /

adjective

1. pertaining to or based on the principle of ecclesiastical government by presbyters or presbyteries.

2. (initial capital letter) designating or pertaining to various churches having this form of government and professing more or less modified forms of Calvinism.

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noun

1. (initial capital letter) a member of a Presbyterian church; a person who supports Presbyterianism.

Presbyterian ¹ British  

/ ˌprɛzbɪˈtɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to any of various Protestant Churches governed by presbyters or lay elders and adhering to various modified forms of Calvinism

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noun

1. a member of a Presbyterian Church

presbyterian ² British  

/ ˌprɛzbɪˈtɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating Church government by presbyters or lay elders

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noun

1. an upholder of this type of Church government

Other Word Forms

• Presbyterianism
  noun
• presbyterianism
  noun
• non-Presbyterian
  adjective
• presbyterianistic
  adjective
• pro-Presbyterian
  adjective
• pseudo-Presbyterian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of presbyterian

First recorded in 1635–45; presbytery + -an

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

presbyterian Presbyterian

Does she have a point that her denomination, the presbyterian Free Church of Scotland - which is often described as socially conservative or even fundamentalist - is not alone in its teachings?

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2023

St Giles' has seen strong Scots women before: Jenny Geddes, in a burst of presbyterian fervour, threw a stool at the minister in the 17th century for daring to introduce an Anglican-tinged prayer book.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 2014

Mack, a pastor at St Andrew's presbyterian church in Saint-Lambert, is a longtime friend of Chassagne's father.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2013

The presbyterian atmosphere of Sutherland's home in her native Sydney was the result of her father William McDonald Sutherland's being a Scots immigrant.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2010

Here, the presbyterian, who had complained of persecution, once fixed in the seat of power, abrogated every kind of independence among others.

From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Isaac Disraeli

Meanwhile, Presbyterian Health Plan will exit more Medicare Advantage markets in 2027, disrupting about 30,000 subscribers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Earlier this year, Gamble was appointed to carry out an external review of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's governance and safeguarding arrangements.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Its leader is Presbyterian seminarian Richard Ackerman, 23, known online as Redeemed Zoomer or RZ.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

The other stockholder proposal focused on human rights, filed by the Presbyterian Church of the U.S., received support from just over 8% of votes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Kids who weren’t into school were unlikely to choose Maybeck, a private high school with roughly a hundred kids that rented space on two floors of a Presbyterian church in Berkeley.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater