Word.ws English Dictionary

Berean

Berean noun: an inhabitant of the ancient city of Berea in what is now northern Greece.

Noun

Berean (plural Bereans)

  1. (historical) An inhabitant of the ancient city of Berea in what is now northern Greece.
  2. (historical) A member of an 18th-century Scottish Protestant sect who derived all knowledge of God from the Bible.
  3. Someone who is meticulous in the study of the Scriptures.
    • Even ſo, although many things herein contained, may be counted rediculous or erroneous; Yet courteous Reader, let me deſire thee to prove thy ſelf a Berean in this matter, Search the Scripture, and ſee whether it be ſo or not.1663, Samuel Bradley, The Afflicted and Retired Mans Meditations, Concerning the Excellency of the Spirit, London
    • Once again, this^([sic – meaning this is]) a case where being a Berean would clear up a lot of confusion. I once heard another WOF teacher, Andrew Wommack, teaching the same thing, and then going on to say that Isaac was conceived because Abraham's faith-filled words spoke him into existence. You...2018, Daniel Plunkett, Learn to Discern: Recognizing False Teachings In the Christian Church Today, Cambridge, Ohio: Christian Publishing House, →ISBN, page 30

Adjective

Berean (comparative more Berean, superlative most Berean)

  1. Meticulous in the study of the Scriptures.
    • The evangelical Church of America is not rationalistic. It is becoming more Berean, not accepting the dicta of theologians, but searching the Scriptures.1880, W. H. Maynard, “The American Church and Our Heterogeneous Population”, in The Baptist Review, volume 2, number 5, page 148
    • Crowds of men all over the land are flocking into adult Bible classes. This is a sign of nobility. This is the Berean way.1909 July 16, William H. Ridgway, “Iron Rose Bible Class”, in The Hamilton Spectator, page 13

Examples of Berean in a sentence

  • Once again, this^([sic – meaning this is]) a case where being a Berean would clear up a lot of confusion.2018, Daniel Plunkett, Learn to Discern: Recognizing False Teachings In the Christian Church Today, Cambridge, Ohio: Christian Publishing...
  • Lately however, this disturbance in my spirit has been enough of a concern to awaken a more Berean attitude.1998 February 6, Dale Ogilvie, “May women teach in the church?”, in soc.religion.christian.bible-study (Usenet):

Synonyms of Berean

Forms of Berean

Noun
pluralBereans
alternative formBeroean
Adjective
comparativemore Berean
superlativemost Berean

Origin of Berean

From Berea + -an. Protestants adopted the name in reference to the Bible, Acts 17: "These [Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so."

Questions about Berean

What does Berean mean?
Berean means an inhabitant of the ancient city of Berea in what is now northern Greece.
How do you use Berean in a sentence?
Once again, this^([sic – meaning this is]) a case where being a Berean would clear up a lot of confusion.
What part of speech is Berean?
Berean can be a noun or an adjective.
What is the plural of Berean?
The plural of Berean is Bereans.

Words near Berean in the dictionary

  1. bereads
  2. BeReal
  3. BeRealed
  4. BeRealing
  5. BeReals
  6. Berean
  7. Bereanism
  8. Bereans
  9. bereavable
  10. bereaval
  11. bereave

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Berean (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Berean.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/berean. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.