Meaning & use
scripture
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablereligion
The sacred writings of a religion, believed to carry divine authority.
Grammar: Can be a count noun for one text or uncountable for the whole body of writings: Hindu scriptures, scripture reading.
Patterns
- read scripture
- quote scripture
- the scriptures
The priest read a passage of scripture at the service.
Many religions treat their scriptures as the word of God.
She studied the scriptures of several faiths.
noununcountablereligion
The Bible, when written with a capital letter, or a verse from it.
Grammar: Often capitalized: Holy Scripture.
Patterns
- according to Scripture
- quote Scripture
The preacher quoted Scripture to support his point.
Scripture teaches that kindness matters.
They gathered each morning to read Scripture.
noununcountablefigurativeinformal
Any writing or text that people treat as a final authority.
Grammar: Used figuratively and often in the phrase treat something as scripture.
Patterns
- treat something as scripture
The manager treated the company handbook as scripture.
For fans, the old manual is scripture.
Word forms
| plural | scriptures |
|---|
Common combinations
- sacred scripture
- The monk copied sacred scripture by hand.
- quote scripture
- He likes to quote scripture during debates.
- holy scripture
- Holy scripture guides their daily life.
- read scripture
- The family reads scripture together every night.
- scripture lesson
- The children had a scripture lesson at school.
Synonyms and how they differ
- holy book
- Holy book is the plain term for one particular sacred text.
- sacred text
- Sacred text is a neutral, scholarly term for religious writings.
- gospel
- Gospel refers to Christian accounts of Jesus, or something accepted as true.
- Bible
- The Bible is one specific scripture, so scripture is wider.
Opposites
Word family
- scriptural adjective
- relating to scripture
- scriptures noun
- sacred texts
- script noun
- written text, or the written words for a film
- scribe noun
- a person who copied texts by hand
Commonly confused: scripture or script?
scripture vs script
Script is the written text for a performance, or a style of writing, and is not sacred.
Practice
The minister opened the service by reading a passage of ___.
Choose one answer.
Scripture means sacred religious writing. A script and a screenplay are for performances, and a scrapbook is for memories.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scripture”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.