variants
also schismatical
as in sectarian
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in separatist
Related Words
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 schismatic
Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 Apr. 2026
Such was the case this past weekend, when tens of millions of fans keyed in on the denouement of the college basketball season at the expense of lesser spectacles such as spring football and one notoriously schismatic pro golf startup.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 9 Apr. 2025
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which didn't recognize the authority of the Russian church and had been regarded as schismatic, was granted full recognition in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Orthodoxy's top authority.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2023
The necessarily schismatic nature of the civil-rights movement, encompassing godless socialists as well as evangelical Christians, was exactly the right place for someone with a Friends background to flourish.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Novatian: one of an early Christian schismatic sect existing from A.D. 251 to the 6th or 7th century that denied that the church should restore lapsed Christians to membership and advocated a rigidly purist conception of church membership.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
The potential members of a schismatic Catholic sect are located in areas of the world such as the United States, where the church has significant financial resources and assets, plus a wide array of independent Catholic institutions that operate largely outside the hierarchy of the church.
—Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 Apr. 2026
In 1935, Pope Pius XI openly supported the invasion of Ethiopia as a crusade against a country of heretics, schismatics, pagans, and infidels.
—Ian Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
How much backing the schismatics might have among AK voters is unclear.
—The Economist, 6 June 2019
This situation has arisen because the head of state, President Poroshenko, turned to the patriarch in Constantinople to give autocephaly to the schismatics.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2019
In 1997 the patriarch of the Russian church excommunicated him and declared his followers schismatics.
—Michael Khodarkovsky, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2018
Adjective
Given that Pakistan is home to over 20 million Shia Muslims—the second largest cohort in the world after Iran—open warfare with the only nation with more would be schismatic internally.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 Apr. 2026
Such was the case this past weekend, when tens of millions of fans keyed in on the denouement of the college basketball season at the expense of lesser spectacles such as spring football and one notoriously schismatic pro golf startup.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 9 Apr. 2025
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which didn't recognize the authority of the Russian church and had been regarded as schismatic, was granted full recognition in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Orthodoxy's top authority.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2023
The necessarily schismatic nature of the civil-rights movement, encompassing godless socialists as well as evangelical Christians, was exactly the right place for someone with a Friends background to flourish.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Novatian: one of an early Christian schismatic sect existing from A.D. 251 to the 6th or 7th century that denied that the church should restore lapsed Christians to membership and advocated a rigidly purist conception of church membership.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
The potential members of a schismatic Catholic sect are located in areas of the world such as the United States, where the church has significant financial resources and assets, plus a wide array of independent Catholic institutions that operate largely outside the hierarchy of the church.
—Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
Noun
Given that Pakistan is home to over 20 million Shia Muslims—the second largest cohort in the world after Iran—open warfare with the only nation with more would be schismatic internally.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 Apr. 2026
In 1935, Pope Pius XI openly supported the invasion of Ethiopia as a crusade against a country of heretics, schismatics, pagans, and infidels.
—Ian Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
How much backing the schismatics might have among AK voters is unclear.
—The Economist, 6 June 2019
This situation has arisen because the head of state, President Poroshenko, turned to the patriarch in Constantinople to give autocephaly to the schismatics.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2019
In 1997 the patriarch of the Russian church excommunicated him and declared his followers schismatics.
—Michael Khodarkovsky, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schismatic
Adjective
-
What followed, in broad terms, was insurgency, sectarian war and then the rise of the Islamic State group.—
Andrew Latham,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Another response was to drive forward the sectarian religion of the Jesus cult, and that’s where the Pauline initiative took over.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Since militants linked to al Qaeda and the northern separatist Tuareg rebels launched simultaneous attacks on April 25 — the most audacious in over a decade — Mali has plunged deeper into chaos.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
-
The attacks, which have been claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), followed last month's heavy assaults on the government by the group and a Tuareg separatist group, the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Young Julian might also be surprised by how your Corpus crew, which started kind of like a renegade group of friends, now has real community impact.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
-
To distinguish itself from all the other renegade action shows out there, showrunner Kyle Killen echoes his project’s cinematic predecessor, albeit with hollow results.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Schismatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schismatic. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
