English Dictionary

CREED

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does creed mean? 

CREED (noun)
  The noun CREED has 2 senses:

1. any system of principles or beliefsplay

2. the written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that groupplay

  Familiarity information: CREED used as a noun is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


CREED (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Any system of principles or beliefs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

credo; creed

Hypernyms ("creed" is a kind of...):

doctrine; ism; philosophical system; philosophy; school of thought (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "creed"):

testament (a profession of belief)

Athanasian Creed (a Christian profession of faith)

Derivation:

credal; creedal (of or relating to a creed)


Sense 2

Meaning:

The written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

church doctrine; creed; gospel; religious doctrine

Hypernyms ("creed" is a kind of...):

doctrine; ism; philosophical system; philosophy; school of thought (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "creed"):

original sin (a sin said to be inherited by all descendants of Adam)

confession (the document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century))

ahimsa (a Buddhist and Hindu and especially Jainist doctrine holding that all forms of life are sacred and urging the avoidance of violence)

dogma; tenet (a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof)

ecumenicalism; ecumenicism; ecumenism ((Christianity) the doctrine of the ecumenical movement that promotes cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations: aimed at universal Christian unity)

Immaculate Conception; Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary ((Christianity) the Roman Catholic dogma that God preserved the Virgin Mary from any stain of original sin from the moment she was conceived)

Incarnation ((Christianity) the Christian doctrine of the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ)

Nicene Creed ((Christianity) a formal creed summarizing Christian beliefs; first adopted in 325 and later expanded)

real presence ((Christianity) the Christian doctrine that the body of Christ is actually present in the Eucharist)

Derivation:

credal; creedal (of or relating to a creed)


 Context examples 


The creed, as I should state it now, was this.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

To hear such words from your lips is as though I heard an angel of grace preaching the devil's own creed.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Them feet-folks from York and Leeds that be always eatin' cured herrin's an' drinkin' tea an' lookin' out to buy cheap jet would creed aught.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Hers was that common insularity of mind that makes human creatures believe that their color, creed, and politics are best and right and that other human creatures scattered over the world are less fortunately placed than they.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Men too often confound them: they should not be confounded: appearance should not be mistaken for truth; narrow human doctrines, that only tend to elate and magnify a few, should not be substituted for the world-redeeming creed of Christ.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

My creed shall ever be that of Chandos.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I considered it a narrative of facts, and discovered in it a vein of interest deeper than what I found in fairy tales: for as to the elves, having sought them in vain among foxglove leaves and bells, under mushrooms and beneath the ground-ivy mantling old wall-nooks, I had at length made up my mind to the sad truth, that they were all gone out of England to some savage country where the woods were wilder and thicker, and the population more scant; whereas, Lilliput and Brobdignag being, in my creed, solid parts of the earth's surface, I doubted not that I might one day, by taking a long voyage, see with my own eyes the little fields, houses, and trees, the diminutive people, the tiny cows, sheep, and birds of the one realm; and the corn-fields forest-high, the mighty mastiffs, the monster cats, the tower-like men and women, of the other.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

No; I cannot believe that: I hold another creed: which no one ever taught me, and which I seldom mention; but in which I delight, and to which I cling: for it extends hope to all: it makes Eternity a rest—a mighty home, not a terror and an abyss.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Besides, with this creed, I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last: with this creed revenge never worries my heart, degradation never too deeply disgusts me, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Firm, faithful, and devoted, full of energy, and zeal, and truth, he labours for his race; he clears their painful way to improvement; he hews down like a giant the prejudices of creed and caste that encumber it.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Money talks, bullshit walks." (English proverb)

"To know your limitations is the hallmark of a wise person." (Bhutanese proverb)

"If your house is of glass, don't throw rocks at others." (Arabic proverb)

"He whom the shoe fits should put it on." (Dutch proverb)



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