total depravity

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noun

the Calvinist doctrine that humankind's entire nature, including its reason, is corrupt or sinful as a result of the Fall and that people are therefore completely dependent on God for regeneration.

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Origin of total depravity

First recorded in 1785–95

Words nearby total depravity

total allergy syndrome, total aphasia, total bases, total body hypothermia, total communication, total depravity, total eclipse, total fighting, total football, total heat, total hyperopia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use total depravity in a sentence

Certainly, she seems to command near-total devotion among her clients.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Total oil production figures include crude oil, natural gas liquids, and other liquid energy products.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4|PunditFact.com|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Former Gov. Jimmy Carter entered the 1976 Presidential campaign as a more or less total unknown.
The World’s Toughest Political Quiz|Jeff Greenfield|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He advocates a secular regime with a total separation of religion form the government.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

More than 750 prisoners have been detained in total over the past 13 years, and about 2,100 people work there.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec 21|PunditFact.com|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Besides these, twenty thousand Indians are under the care of secular priests—making a total of two hundred and five thousand.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Quantitative estimation of the total sulphates yields little of clinical value.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The total fresh troops amounted to about 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish cazadores.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Rich natives and Chinese lost large sums of money, the total of which cannot be ascertained.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Almost one-quarter of the total supply printed has been placed in circulation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for total depravity

total depravity

noun

mainly Calvinist the doctrine that man's nature is totally corrupt as a result of the Fall

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