Meaning & use
faith-based
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to an organization or service that is run by a religious group or based on religious values.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes, as in faith-based school; it is not used after a verb like be faith-based in most everyday contexts.
Patterns
- faith-based organization
- faith-based charity
- faith-based school
The city gives money to several faith-based charities that run food banks.
She works for a faith-based organization that helps refugees find housing.
Some parents prefer a faith-based school for their children.
Common combinations
- faith-based initiative
- The government announced a new faith-based initiative to support homeless people.
- faith-based group
- A faith-based group organized the winter clothing drive.
- faith-based education
- He received a faith-based education at a small Catholic school.
- faith-based charity
- Donations to the faith-based charity doubled this year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- religious
- Religious is broader and can describe beliefs, people, or objects; faith-based specifically describes organizations or services.
- church-run
- Church-run is narrower and refers only to Christian churches; faith-based covers any religion.
Opposites
Word family
- faith noun
- Strong belief in a religion or in someone or something.
Commonly confused: faith-based or faith based?
faith-based vs faith based
The standard spelling includes a hyphen: faith-based. Without the hyphen it looks like a verb phrase and is usually considered a mistake.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'faith-based' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Faith-based' is an adjective that comes before a noun like organization, so option 0 is correct. Options 1–3 use it as a verb or adverb, which is not standard English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “faith-based”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.