dogma

noun

dog·​ma ˈdȯg-mə 

ˈdäg-

plural dogmas also dogmata ˈdȯg-mə-tə 

ˈdäg-

1

a

: something held as an established opinion

Fiscal expansion bothers people because it violates the dogma that government is the problem, not the solution …

—Paul Krugman

especially : a definite authoritative tenet

… the results threatened to alter accepted biological dogma about the origins of living creatures on this planet …

—Warren Froehlich

b

: a code of such tenets

pedagogical dogma

… these bills represent a ragged break from the neoliberal dogma that undermined climate legislation for decades.

—Matthew Miles Goodrich

c

: a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds

… I remember well the dogma and fervor that went alongside grammar rules.

—Jesse Wright

2

: a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church

Religion I take to be concerned with faith. … Connected with this are spiritual teachings or dogma, ritual, prayer, and so on.

—Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Synonyms of dogma

• doctrine

Examples of dogma in a Sentence

The Saudi regime has tried to deflect questions about its management of the country … by supporting and spreading an uncompromising religious dogma. —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2001

He was known for his ability to burst the bubble of generally accepted dogma, to puncture it with data and detached observations. —Sherwin B. Nuland, New Republic, 19 Feb. 2001

It had long been biological dogma that whales were scarce in the open ocean, but the Navy was picking up whale songs thousands of miles from land. —Sharon Begley et al., Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2000

For in creating a cultural orthodoxy designed to combat racism, urban disorder, and a legacy of oppression, we subject ourselves to delusional dogma, the tyranny of conformity … —Gerald Early, Harper's, January 1997

These new findings challenge the current dogma in the field.

the Catholic dogma of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary

Recent Examples on the Web

That discovery in 2006 now appears to have overturned decades of dinosaur dogma about Tyrannosaurus rex, the fearsome giant long thought to be the sole top predator stalking the late Cretaceous. —Ari Daniel, NPR, 30 Oct. 2025

There’s a common, but untrue, narrative that certain sets of scientific dogmas, like the Earth being stationary and the center of the Universe, could not be challenged. —Big Think, 30 Oct. 2025

His experiences amid the Soviet Union’s death throes burnished the impression that every nation must forge its own path distinct from cookie-cutter dogma. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 30 Oct. 2025

By then, the preeminent fashion genius of the third quarter of the 20th century and the designer so often credited with inventing the modern woman’s wardrobe had handed prêt-à-porter over to his assistants, who clung as if by commandment to the house dogma of bourgeois Parisian elegance. —Rob Haskell, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin dogmat-, dogma, from Greek, from dokein to seem — more at decent

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

dogma

noun

dog·​ma ˈdȯg-mə 

ˈdäg-

plural dogmas also dogmata -mət-ə 

1

: something considered as an established opinion

2

: a belief or body of beliefs concerning faith or morals laid down by a church