Meaning & use
creed
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Meanings
nouncountablereligionformal
A formal set of beliefs held by a religion or a group.
Grammar: Countable: a creed, many creeds.
Patterns
- the creed of a group
People of every creed attended the festival.
The group's creed was written in a short text.
The church recites its creed at every service.
nouncountablefigurative
A set of principles that guides how a person lives or works.
Grammar: Often figurative: my creed is simple.
Patterns
- live by a creed
- a personal creed
Treat others as you wish to be treated was her creed.
His creed was to work hard and say little.
The company's creed puts customers first.
nounproperreligionspecialist
A short statement of Christian belief that is recited, especially the Nicene or Apostles' Creed.
Grammar: Often capitalized: the Creed.
Patterns
- recite the Creed
The congregation stood to recite the Creed.
Children learned the Apostles' Creed by heart.
Word forms
| plural | creeds |
|---|
Common combinations
- race, creed, or color
- The law forbids discrimination based on race, creed, or color.
- live by a creed
- She lives by a simple creed.
- religious creed
- People of any religious creed may join.
- political creed
- He abandoned his political creed after the election.
- recite the creed
- They recite the creed every week.
- personal creed
- His personal creed is honesty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- belief
- Belief is a single idea you hold, whereas a creed is a whole set of them.
- doctrine
- Doctrine is taught official teaching, while a creed is a statement of what one believes.
- credo
- Credo is a more literary word for a person's guiding belief.
- philosophy
- A philosophy is a way of thinking, often worked out by the person, rather than a formal statement.
Opposites
Word family
- credo noun
- a statement of belief, from the Latin for I believe
- credible adjective
- able to be believed
- credit noun
- belief or trust, from the same root
- incredible adjective
- hard to believe
Commonly confused: creed or creek?
creed vs creek
A creek is a small stream; the words sound different but are sometimes misspelled alike.
Practice
The anti-discrimination policy covers people of every race, ____, and nationality.
Choose one answer.
Creed means religious or other belief system and fits the fixed list. Greed, breed, and speed only share the sound.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “creed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.