Protestant

American  

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

noun

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

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

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”; 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

The ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star returns as a Protestant clergyman who becomes entangled with the mob in this Netflix series co-starring Taylor Ortega and Laurie Metcalf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Lady Jane, a Protestant great-niece of Henry VIII, was born at the 15th-Century Grade-II* listed scheduled monument in 1537 and became queen on 9 July 1553.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Born on July 12, 1937, in the Paris suburb of Meudon to a middle-class Protestant family, Jospin joined the Scouts as a teenager and was a keen basketball player.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Le Corbusier, who could be described as a nonbelieving Protestant, had one religion, which was architecture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

But by 2000, a main-line Protestant was only 65 percent more likely to have the same degree.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times