Berean
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An inhabitant of the ancient city of Berea in what is now northern Greece. historical
- 2 A member of an 18th-century Scottish Protestant sect who derived all knowledge of God from the Bible. historical
- 3 Someone who is meticulous in the study of the Scriptures.
"Even ſo, although many things herein contained, may be counted rediculous or erroneous; Yet courteous Reader, let me deſire thee to prove thy ſelf a Berean in this matter, Search the Scripture, and ſee whether it be ſo or not."
- 1 Meticulous in the study of the Scriptures.
"The evangelical Church of America is not rationalistic. It is becoming more Berean, not accepting the dicta of theologians, but searching the Scriptures."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Even ſo, although many things herein contained, may be counted rediculous or erroneous; Yet courteous Reader, let me deſire thee to prove thy ſelf a Berean in this matter, Search the Scripture, and ſee whether it be ſo or not."
Etymology
From Berea + -an. Protestants adopted the name in reference to the Bible, Acts 17: "These [Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so."
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.