What does "religion" mean?
Belief in a spiritual or metaphysical reality (often including at least one deity), accompanied by practices or rituals pertaining to the belief.
Religion
/ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒən/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Belief in a spiritual or metaphysical reality (often including at least one deity), accompanied by practices or rituals pertaining to the belief.
- Grammar: religion is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: faith, adoration, agama, anthroposophy.
- Useful contrasts: atheism, nonreligion.
- Usage evidence: The settlers embraced the Christian religion.
How to use "religion"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "religion" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "religion" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "religion" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Belief in a spiritual or metaphysical reality (often including at least one deity), accompanied by practices or rituals pertaining to the belief. uncountable
"Holonyms: cosmology, ontology, epistemology, philosophy"
- 2 a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny wordnet
- 3 A particular system of such belief, and the rituals and practices proper to it. countable
"Holonyms: cosmology, ontology, epistemology, philosophy"
- 4 an institution to express belief in a divine power wordnet
- 5 The way of life committed to by monks and nuns. uncountable
"The monk entered religion when he was 20 years of age."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Rituals and actions associated with religious beliefs, but considered apart from them. informal, uncountable
"I think some Christians would love Jesus more if they weren't so stuck in religion."
- 7 Any practice to which someone or some group is seriously devoted. countable
"At this point, Star Trek has really become a religion."
- 8 Faithfulness to a given principle; conscientiousness. obsolete, uncountable
"Oh with what religion doe I respect and observe the same!"
Verb
- 1 Engage in religious practice.
"On the scales below, circle the one ( + ) or (-) number which best represents your situation on both the belief and practice dimensions for each of the traditional and nontraditional forms of religioning."
- 2 Indoctrinate into a specific religion.
"To men whose minds are thus religioned, tied back to gods that never advance, there can never be any such word as progress"
- 3 To make sacred or symbolic; sanctify.
"The discussion of diet and health raises the question of the importance of discussing vegetarianism in relation to the contemporary religioning of health; as Ross remarks, 'health has replaced sexuality as the new privileged discourse of bodily truth and inner essence'."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The settlers embraced the Christian religion."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "religion"?
Common synonyms include: faith, adoration, agama, anthroposophy, apologetics, articles of religion.
How do you use "religion" in a sentence?
The settlers embraced the Christian religion.
How do you pronounce "religion"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒən/.
Etymology
From Middle English religioun, from Old French religion, from Latin religiō (“scrupulousness, pious misgivings, superstition, conscientiousness, sanctity, an object of veneration, cult-observance, reverence”). Most likely from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- with the meanings preserved in Latin dīligere and legere (“to read repeatedly”, “to have something solely in mind”). Displaced Old English ǣfæstnes (“religion, lawfulness”).