Word.ws English Dictionary

Manichaism

/mænɪˈkeɪ.ɪzəm/

Manichaism is the alternative spelling of Manichaeism.

Meaning of Manichaeism

Proper noun

Manichaeism

  1. A syncretic, dualistic religion that combines elements of Zoroastrian, Christian, and Gnostic thought, founded by the Iranian prophet Mani in the 3rd century AD.
  2. A dualistic philosophy dividing the world between good and evil principles, or regarding matter as intrinsically evil and mind as intrinsically good.
    • In Manichaeism, as Benny Goodman used to sing, it's “Gotta Be This or That.” One thing or the other will triumph, in this dualistic view, and the winner is supposed to be determined in an apocalyptic struggle involving a world conflagration.1988 June 12, William Safire, “No Shades of Gray”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin of Manichaism

From Latin Manichaismus, from Koine Greek Μανιχαϊσμός (Manikhaïsmós).

Words that rhyme with Manichaism

Questions about Manichaism

What is Manichaism the alternative spelling of?
Manichaism is the alternative spelling of Manichaeism.
How do you pronounce Manichaism?
Manichaism is pronounced /mænɪˈkeɪ.ɪzəm/.

Words near Manichaism in the dictionary

  1. Manichaeist
  2. Manichaeistic
  3. Manichaeists
  4. Manichaeus
  5. Manichaic
  6. Manichaism
  7. Manichaist
  8. Manichaists
  9. Manichean
  10. Manicheanism
  11. Manicheans

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Manichaism (page history and authors); Manichaeism (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: “Manichaism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/manichaism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.