Meaning & use
catechism
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Meanings
nouncountable
A book or set of questions and fixed answers that sums up the beliefs of a Christian church and is used to teach them.
Grammar: Countable: the catechism of one church differs from another. It is often written with a capital letter when it names a specific church text.
Patterns
- the catechism of something
- learn the catechism
Children in the parish memorized the catechism before their first communion.
The priest read a passage from the catechism aloud.
Her grandmother still remembered answers from the catechism she studied as a girl.
nouncountablefigurative
Any long series of probing questions, or a fixed list of rules or answers that someone is made to repeat.
Grammar: Used figuratively and often slightly critical: a catechism of demands.
Patterns
- a catechism of something
- go through a catechism
The new manager subjected each applicant to a catechism about their past mistakes.
Before the trip, my parents ran through their usual catechism: Have you packed? Do you have your keys?
The party's members recited a catechism of slogans at every meeting.
Word forms
| plural | catechisms |
|---|
Common combinations
- learn the catechism
- Students had to learn the catechism by heart.
- church catechism
- The church catechism was taught every Sunday.
- recite the catechism
- He could still recite the catechism decades later.
- political catechism
- The candidate refused to follow the party's political catechism.
- a catechism of questions
- She faced a catechism of questions about her finances.
Synonyms and how they differ
- creed
- A creed is a statement of beliefs, such as one recited in church, while a catechism is a teaching text built from questions and answers.
- doctrine
- Doctrine is the body of beliefs itself, and a catechism is one way of presenting it.
- interrogation
- Interrogation fits the figurative sense of relentless questioning, but it is harsher than a catechism, which implies set, repeated questions.
- primer
- A primer is a basic introduction to any subject, whereas a catechism is specifically in question-and-answer form and usually religious.
Word family
- catechize verb
- to teach religious doctrine by questions and answers, or to question someone closely
- catechist noun
- a person who teaches religious beliefs
- catechumen noun
- a person being taught the basics of Christianity before baptism
- catechetical adjective
- relating to teaching by question and answer
Commonly confused: catechism or catharsis?
catechism vs catharsis
Catharsis means an emotional release or cleansing, which is quite different from a catechism, a set of questions and answers.
Practice
Which sentence uses catechism in its figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the last sentence describes a long run of probing questions, which is the figurative sense. The others refer to the religious text itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “catechism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.