deism

Definition of deismnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deism This vague gesture in the direction of deism has no antecedent in the book, no moral or theological trajectory to make Bambi’s insight meaningful or satisfying. Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022 Those intuitions usually commended a staid deism and scorn for those whose beliefs extended any further. Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 12 Mar. 2021 These concepts readily passed from Rousseau’s sentimental deism, to Hegel’s doctrine of world-historical progress, to Marx, and to progressivism today. John D. Hagen, National Review, 20 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deism
Noun
  • Some of the earliest information about Khanty religious traditions comes from Russian priests who sent their reports to the archbishop of Siberia to alert him to the problem of continued paganism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Sitting atop one of the seven hills overlooking the city, the site is like an archaeological mosaic where fragments of paganism, Christianity and Islam from different eras and empires coexist.
    NPR, NPR, 26 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The Chinese Communists aren’t trying to extirpate every last trace of theism, thereby inviting the undivided opposition of religious believers and institutions (as the Soviets did with regard to John Paul II’s Vatican).
    Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 21 Feb. 2021
  • Thoreau moves fluidly between the two, shuttling between the divine and the here-and-now, between theism and materialism.
    Longreads, Longreads, 13 July 2017
Noun
  • In 1809, Friedrich’s budding pantheism landed him in hot water.
    Zachary Fine, The New Yorker, 28 June 2024
  • If anyone is wondering, stoicism and pantheism are my preferred lenses through to view the world.
    Christa Allen, Allure, 28 May 2021
Noun
  • Out of this ethical fog has risen a Silicon Valley theology, split into warring sects.
    Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Greta Gaffin, a Boston University theology student studying American religious history, said the Catholic service struck her as historically ironic.
    ABC News, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • For all its moral and political weight, monotheism is surprisingly hard to pin down.
    Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Stasevska was born in 1984, the same year that Glass’ hypnotic, ritualistic opera, about an Egyptian pharaoh who dared to push monotheism onto his polytheistic culture, debuted in Stuttgart, Germany.
    Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The opera ends with Akhnaten’s son, presumably Tutankhamun, restoring polytheism, and then, once the staging jumps millennia into the future, it’s rediscovered by modern-day tourists.
    Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Nefertiti was the principal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the ruler who upended Egypt's religious customs away from polytheism and toward Atenism.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Such a change in military doctrine is not just symbolic, but is also a big deal since Japan’s strictly defensive military thinking since its defeat in World War II.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 15 Mar. 2026
  • After he was elected last May, Leo had continued living in his small flat in the Vatican’s Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, the headquarters of the Holy See doctrine office that also has a handful of private apartments for Vatican officials.
    ABC News, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Its founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, established a religious dictatorship that subjugates the Iranian people under sharia law, while zealously exporting its dogma by force.
    Elan Journo, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
  • The hillbilly elegist turned venture capitalist once seemed poised to remake Reaganite Republican dogma.
    Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Deism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deism. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

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