syncretism

[ sing-kri-tiz-uhm, sin- ]

/ ˈsɪŋ krɪˌtɪz əm, ˈsɪn- /

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noun

the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.

Grammar. the merging, as by historical change in a language, of two or more categories in a specified environment into one, as, in nonstandard English, the use of was with both singular and plural subjects, while in standard English was is used with singular subjects (except for you in the second person singular) and were with plural subjects.

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Origin of syncretism

First recorded in 1610–20; from New Latin syncretismus, from Greek synkrētismós “union of Cretans,” i.e., a united front of two opposing parties against a common foe, derivative of synkrēt(ízein) “to form a confederation” (see syncretize) + -ismos noun suffix (see -ism)

OTHER WORDS FROM syncretism

syn·cret·ic

[sin-kret-ik], /sɪnˈkrɛt ɪk/, syn·cret·i·cal, syn·cre·tis·tic

[sing-kri-tis-tik, sin-], /ˌsɪŋ krɪˈtɪs tɪk, ˌsɪn-/, adjectivesyn·cre·tist, noun

Words nearby syncretism

syncopate, syncopated, syncopation, syncope, syncretic, syncretism, syncretize, syncrisis, syncytium, synd., syndactyl

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

How to use syncretism in a sentence

Quite fascinatingly, over time, Anubis continued to be worshipped through a unique scope of cultural syncretism.
Anubis: Mythology Of The Enigmatic Egyptian Jackal God|Dattatreya Mandal|June 27, 2022|Realm of History
His mysticism and syncretism were things that precisely Christianity cannot reproach him with.
We Philologists, Volume 8 (of 18)|Friedrich Nietzsche
And it is here especially that we notice the syncretism which is peculiar to him.
What is Property?|P. J. Proudhon
There appears to be a very early example of syncretism in p. 49Australia.
The Homeric Hymns|Andrew Lang

Pupils under 16 were assigned the topic Syncretism in the later pagan movement.
Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Third General Meeting of the American Library Association|Various
Those which now pass for Christian in western Europe are the result of the syncretism of two thousand years.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for syncretism

syncretism

/ (ˈsɪŋkrɪˌtɪzəm) /

noun

the tendency to syncretize

the historical tendency of languages to reduce their use of inflection, as in the development of Old English with all its case endings into Modern English

Derived forms of syncretism

syncretic (sɪŋˈkrɛtɪk) or syncretistic, adjectivesyncretist, noun

Word Origin for syncretism

C17: from New Latin syncrētismus, from Greek sunkrētismos alliance of Cretans, from sunkrētizein to join forces (in the manner of the Cretan towns), from syn- + Krēs a Cretan

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