protestant

1 of 2

noun

prot·​es·​tant ˈprä-tə-stənt 

sense 2 is also

prə-ˈte- 

1

Protestant

a

: any of a group of German princes and cities presenting a defense of freedom of conscience against an edict of the Diet of Speyer in 1529 intended to suppress the Lutheran movement

b

: a member of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth

broadly : a Christian not of a Catholic or Eastern church

2

: one who makes or enters a protest

Protestantism

ˈprä-tə-stən-ˌti-zəm 

noun

protestant

2 of 2

adjective

1

Protestant : of or relating to Protestants, their churches, or their religion

2

: making or sounding a protest

The two protestant ladies up and marched out.

—Time

Examples of protestant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Protestants argued that the true church was not an earthly institution but the invisible community of all faithful Christians on Earth and in heaven. — Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 30 June 2026

Raised as a protestant, Vance was later an atheist while in college and after graduating but converted to Catholicism in 2019. — Max Rego, The Hill, 11 June 2026

Adjective

The color line As in Germany, historians contend that Southern Jews who wanted reforms, which wound up making worship more similar to a Protestant service, were responding to the overwhelmingly Christian makeup of the society around them. — Ashley Walters, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026

Hüller was to play a woman disguising herself as a male soldier in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War, ingratiating herself in a small Protestant village. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French, from Latin protestant-, protestans, present participle of protestari

First Known Use

Noun

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

protestant

noun

prot·​es·​tant

ˈprät-əs-tənt

sense 2 is also prə-ˈtes-

1

capitalized : a member of one of several Christian churches that separated from the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century or of a church founded by members of these churches

2

: one who protests

protestant adjective often capitalized

Protestantism

ˈprät-əs-tənt-ˌiz-əm

noun

Legal Definition

protestant

noun

pro·​tes·​tant prə-ˈtes-tənt 

: a person challenging an action of an administrative agency