MONOTHEISM Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

monotheism

noun

Definition of monotheism

as in paganism

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 monotheism 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 For instance, according to Alawite beliefs, Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, is a divine manifestation of God, which challenges the idea of strict monotheism central to Sunni Islam. — Güneş Murat Tezcür, The Conversation, 23 July 2025 Freud, too, proposed that Moses was an Egyptian prince who invented monotheism (or stole it from Akhenaten). — Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for monotheism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for monotheism

Noun

There are still remnants of the Gauls in the modern French language, including the words for country and paganism, INRAP president Dominique Garcia pointed out.

— CBS News, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
To Europeans, the binary of civility and savagery paralleled that of Christianity and paganism.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026

Definition of paganism

Noun

The faith codes included dozens of highly specific Christian denominations, as well as groups such as Ásatrú, which honors Norse gods; Eckankar, which emphasizes soul travel, dreams, and past-life study; and the Troth, a form of Germanic polytheism.

— Sophie Hills, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Apr. 2026
As Jewish identity crystallized during and after the Babylonian exile, polytheism remained an enduring temptation.

— Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026

Definition of polytheism

Noun

In traditional Islamic theology, the church and state are deeply intertwined.

— Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2026
This is, of course, the conception of fundamentalist theology, which threatens eternal hellfire for anyone who defies its commandments.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of theology

Noun

Western scholars also variously understand the concept of brahman in the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta as a version of monism (the oneness of all things), pantheism (all is god), or panentheism (god is the whole universe and beyond).

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
In 1809, Friedrich’s budding pantheism landed him in hot water.

— Zachary Fine, The New Yorker, 28 June 2024

Definition of pantheism

Noun

The question of which Western category of theism Hinduism might be, and therefore how many gods there were, informed the interreligious and intercultural encounter.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
But the revered text affirmed a generic theism – belief in a creator god – without mentioning Jesus or Christianity.

— Thomas Tweed, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026

Definition of theism

Noun

What if even the slightest error in doctrine or practice allowed the devil to mislead and damn well-meaning Christians?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
The term appeared within Christian doctrine somewhere around the seventeenth century in reference to the flood that followed the Fall.

— Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of doctrine

Noun

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

Definition of deism

Noun

Boards would be well served to keep the succession yardsticks focused on genuine performance metrics rather than fact-free dogma related to CEO age, longevity or tenure.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Compulsory worship with frightening dogma, which could lead you equally plausibly to heaven or hell.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of dogma

Browse Nearby Words

monosyllables

monotheism

monotheisms

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Monotheism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monotheism. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of monotheism

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on monotheism

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

adventitious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes