Word.ws English Dictionary

exegete

/ˈɛksɪˌdʒiːt/US/ˈɛksəˌd͡ʒit/

exegete noun: a person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.

Noun

exegete (plural exegetes)

  1. A person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.
    • A text that could not speak to the present was dead, and the exegete had a duty to revive it.2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 94
    • In Plato's state all three exegetes will be selected by Apollo. This is contrary to the practice of Hellenistic times, according to the evidence so ably marshaled by Oliver, when only two of the exegetes were named by the oracle.1960, Glenn R. Morrow, Charles Harry Kahn, Plato's Cretan City: A Historical Interpretation of the Laws, →ISBN

Verb

exegete (third-person singular simple present exegetes, present participle exegeting, simple past and past participle exegeted)

  1. (transitive) (chiefly religion) To interpret; to perform an exegesis on.
    • History, not the dictionary, must exegete this doctrine. When thus exegeted, the secularity of our Government, as shown by the intentions of its founders, the customs of the people, and the continuous decisions of the courts, means simply the separation of church and state.1905, Borden P. Bowne, “Moral Training in the Public Schools”, in Homiletic Review, page 93

exegete meaning in Arabic

exegete in Arabic

person skilled in exegesis
مُفَسِّر mufassir
to perform an exegesis on
فَسَّرَ fassara

Synonyms of exegete

Forms of exegete

Noun
pluralexegetes
Verb
third-person singular presentexegetes
present participleexegeting
past participleexegeted
pastexegeted

Origin of exegete

From Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής (exēgētḗs, “expounder, interpreter”).

Questions about exegete

What does exegete mean?
Exegete means a person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.
What is exegete in Arabic?
Exegete in Arabic is مُفَسِّر (mufassir), فَسَّرَ (fassara). See Exegete meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is exegete?
Exegete can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce exegete?
Exegete is pronounced /ˈɛksɪˌdʒiːt/ (UK).
What is the plural of exegete?
The plural of exegete is exegetes.

Words near exegete in the dictionary

  1. exeems
  2. exegeses
  3. exegesis
  4. exegesist
  5. exegesists
  6. exegete
  7. exegeted
  8. exegetes
  9. exegetic
  10. exegetical
  11. exegetical neutrality

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: exegete (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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