What does "donatist" mean?

One of a group of Christians in fourth-century North Africa who broke away as a group after opposing the appointment of Caecilianus as Bishop of Carthage, and who disputed the validity of baptisms performed by others.

What is a synonym for "donatist"?

Common synonyms include: apocryphal, erroneous, fallacious, heretic, heretical, heterodox.

How do you pronounce "donatist"?

Pronounced //ˈdəʊnətɪst//.

Donatist

//ˈdəʊnətɪst// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
One of a group of Christians in fourth-century North Africa who broke away as a group after opposing the appointment of Caecilianus as Bishop of Carthage, and who disputed the validity of baptisms performed by others. historical
"Faced with petitions from the Donatists, in 311 Constantine made a decision of great significance for the future."
2
an adherent of Donatism wordnet

Adjective

1
of or relating to Donatism wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

apocryphal erroneous fallacious heretic heretical heterodox

Example

More examples

"Faced with petitions from the Donatists, in 311 Constantine made a decision of great significance for the future."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin Dōnātista, from Dōnātus, one of their leaders.

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