monotheism
/ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/
monotheism · noun — belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian. It carries an Arena rating of 1502, earned across 93 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, monotheism ranks #1,128 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,643 of 17,129 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,183 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #3,517 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words.
monotheism is pronounced /ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/.
Why “monotheism” is a great word
MONOTHEISM — [Noun] The belief in a single, personal deity, especially as the central doctrine of an organized religion. From the Greek μονός (monós, "one") and θεός (theós, "god, deity") + -ισμός (-ismós, "belief, doctrine"). Coined around 1660 by Henry More. Unlike polytheism, which disperses divinity among a pantheon, or henotheism, which elevates one deity among many, monotheism is an architecture of absolute singularity. It is the stark silhouette of a lone spire against an empty sky, the unadorned wall of a mosque scoured of all competing images, and the profound solitude of a consciousness that posits only One who truly listens—a cosmos contracted to a single, sovereign point of absolute and lonely authority.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, ca. 1660, in explicit juxtaposition with both atheism and polytheism. It was redefined through etymological fallacy by Daniel Webster ca. 1828.
noun
- Belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.
- The belief in a single deity (one god or goddess); especially within an organized religion.
- The belief that God is one person (Judaism, Unitarian Christianity, Islam), not three persons (Trinitarian Christianity, Hinduism)
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- polytheism 65% match — The belief in the existence of multiple gods. vs monotheism →
- monolatrism 65% match — The worship of a single deity (while possibly believing in others). vs monotheism →
- unipersonalist 61% match — One who believes in a unipersonal deity, i.e. that God is one being, while being the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. vs monotheism →
- modalism 60% match — The nontrinitarian doctrine that God, who is one person, has three modes of divine revelation (the Father, Son, and Spirit), contrary to the orthodox belief that the three persons are all fully God. vs monotheism →
- monotheistically 59% match — In a monotheistic manner. vs monotheism →
- theomonism 59% match — a monism that recognizes the existence of God vs monotheism →
- pantheism 59% match — The belief that the Universe is in some sense divine and should be revered. Pantheism identifies the universe with God but denies any personality or transcendence of such a God. vs monotheism →
- monoideism 58% match — The domination of a single idea, as in certain mental disorders. vs monotheism →