Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Wahhabism

American  
[wuh-hah-biz-uhm, wah-] / wəˈhɑ bɪz əm, wɑ- /
Also Wahhabiism

noun

  1. the group of doctrines or practices of the Wahhabis.


Etymology

Origin of Wahhabism

First recorded in 1820–30; Wahhab(i) + -ism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Or one could argue the opposite: The presence of a unifying caliph might have, as it had for centuries, moderated the expansion of marginal extremist movements such as Wahhabism or, in our time, Islamic State.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

An adherent of Wahhabism, a conservative and fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam, he hopes to rally a population exhausted by over a decade of conflict.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

Ruled for generations by the House of Saud under Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Sunni Islam, Saudi Arabia perennially scores near the bottom of most international human rights indices.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2023

Qatar follows an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 17, 2022

And Wahhabism is a direct telegraph wire between mortal man and his God.

From The Book of Khalid by Rihani, Ameen Fares

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Wahhabism" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com