noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The Christian religious tradition based upon the doctrines and forms of Christian practice of several Protestant reformers, especially John Calvin, in contrast to Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anabaptism, and Arminianism. One distinctive trait of the system is its Augustinian doctrine of predestination, which teaches that God has elected some for salvation, apart from anything they do or believe. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   the theological system of John Calvin and his followers emphasizing omnipotence of God and salvation by grace alone wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

denominationdeterminismelectionreformedreformed christianityreformed faith

Example

More examples

"Calvinism had a very strong impact."

Etymology

From French calvinisme, equivalent to Calvin + -ism.

Related phrases

hyper-Calvinism

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.