Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

syncretism

play
noun syn·cre·tism \ˈsiŋ-krə-ˌti-zəm, ˈsin-\

Definition of syncretism

  1. 1 :  the combination of different forms of belief or practice

  2. 2 :  the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms

syncretist

play \-tist\ noun or adjective

syncretistic

play \ˌsiŋ-krə-ˈtis-tik, ˌsin-\ adjective

From the M-W Editors

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness

syncretism was our Word of the Day on 03/07/2017. Hear the podcast!

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Get Word of the Day daily email, delivered to your inbox!

Origin and Etymology of syncretism

New Latin syncretismus, from Greek synkrētismos federation of Cretan cities, from syn- + Krēt-, Krēs Cretan

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Learn More about syncretism

  1. See words that rhyme with syncretism Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about syncretism

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up syncretism? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

flagrant

play

conspicuously offensive

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. acrostic "The initial letters form a word"

  2. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  3. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  4. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  5. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game