Protestant

American  

[prot-uh-stuhnt, pruh-tes-tuhnt] / ˈprɒt ə stənt, prəˈtɛs tənt /

noun

Protestants plural

1. any Western Christian who is not an adherent of a Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Church.

2. an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them, usually excluding the Anabaptists.

3. (originally) any of the German princes who protested against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which had denounced the Reformation.

4. protestant, a person who protests.

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adjective

1. belonging or relating to Protestants or their religion.

2. protestant. protesting.

Protestant British  

/ ˈprɒtɪstənt /

noun

1. 1. an adherent of Protestantism

   2. ( as modifier )

      the Protestant Church

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Protestant Cultural  

1. A Christian belonging to one of the three great divisions of Christianity (the other two are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church). Protestantism began during the Renaissance as a protest against the established (Roman Catholic) church (see also established church). That protest, led by Martin Luther, was called the Reformation, because it sprang from a desire to reform the church and cleanse it of corruption, such as the selling of indulgences.

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Discover More

Protestants hold a great variety of beliefs, but they are united in rejecting the authority of the pope. Protestant groups include the Amish, the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God, the Baptists, Christian Science, the Congregationalists, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonites, the Methodists, the Presbyterian Church, and the Quakers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Protestant
  adjective
• non-Protestant
  adjective
• pro-Protestant
  adjective
• unprotestant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Protestants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Protestant

First recorded in 1530–40; from French or German, from Latin prōtestantēs “bearing public witness,” plural of present participle of prōtestārī “to bear public witness”; see protest

Explanation

The adjective protestant describes a person or thing that is protesting or displaying disapproval or objection. You might see protestant young students marching in front of the capital in reaction to the government's newly passed bill. Protestant originates from the Latin word protestari, meaning "declare publicly, testify, protest," which combines pro meaning "forth, before," and testari meaning "testify." A protestant person typically is someone making a public declaration against something he opposes. The protestant residents in your city are against the plan to develop businesses on the waterfront. You were being protestant when you questioned your professor's grading policy in front of the entire class.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Protestant Protestants

Pastor Marlin, 57, said the Protestant synod also helps in cases of violence against women and children "if the victims speak up".

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

The work features four vocal soloists who represent Native American, Sephardic, African American and Protestant religious traditions, along with instrumental music based on early American hymn tunes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Soon after the Civil War, Protestant Christians in the U.S. perceived a new threat.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

The challenge of reconciling the dilemma was even more formidable than the Protestant ideal of literacy that expected converts to read the Bible and sing out of the Psalter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Maria had grown up Calvinist, a form of Protestant Christianity with a deep distrust of frivolity and vanity.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

The Christian amendment ultimately failed, largely because not all Protestants supported it.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

Mr. Ryrie’s chief subject is the encounter between Protestants and non-European peoples in places as vastly different as Barbados, Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope and Sri Lanka.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

And apart from a rabbi and a retired Catholic archbishop, almost all the 20 listed "faith leaders" who will speak are evangelical Protestants.

From Barron's ● May 17, 2026

As part of its peace barriers programme, Catholics and Protestants from the peace line in the Springfield Road area come together to talk and do activities.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

But over the last forty years, evangelicals have pulled steadily closer in income and education to mainline Protestants in the historically affluent establishment denominations.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times