pharisaism
Syllables: pha·ri·sa·ism/ˈfaɹ.ɪˌseɪ.ɪz.(ə)m//ˈfɛɹ.əˌseɪˌɪz.əm/
pharisaism noun: the doctrines and practices, or the character and spirit, of the Pharisees.
Noun (1)
pharisaism (countable and uncountable, plural pharisaisms)
- The doctrines and practices, or the character and spirit, of the Pharisees.
- Since Paul lived and worked in the greater Syrian area as a Pharisee, it is somewhat probable that Pharisaism had some influence there and that some Pharisees lived outside Jerusalem and Judea. […] Paul never says where he made contact with Pharisaism, in Tarsus, Syria, or Jerusalem. […] The...1988, Anthony J. Saldarini, Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society: A Sociological Approach, Wilmington, Del.: M. Glazier, →ISBN, page 138
- Serious and substantial doubts about Paul's former life as a Pharisee, or even any contact with pharisaism on his part, have been raised.2002, J. Andrew Overman, “Kata Nomon Pharisaios: A Short History of Paul's Pharisaism”, in Janice Capel Anderson, Philip Sellew, Claudia Setzer, editors, Pauline Conversations in Context: Essays in...
- Rigid observance of external forms of religion without genuine piety; hypocrisy in religion; a censorious, self-righteous spirit in matters of morals or manners.
- [T]he Phariſee faſted twice every weeke, and that never cenſured in him as a peice of Phariſaiſme, or hypocriſie, or fault of any kind; but as commendable, if he had not boaſted of it.1645 [indicated as 1646], [Henry Hammond], “Of Feasting”, in A Practicall Catechisme, Oxford: [s.n.], →OCLC, book III, section III, page 303
- But denunciations do not go far, and the only living and effective protest would be a society itself delivered from all pharisaisms and idolatries.1915, John Oman, “The Judgment of the Churches”, in The War and Its Issues: An Attempt at a Christian Judgment, Cambridge: At the University Press, OCLC 561696232; 2nd edition, Cambridge: At the...
Noun (2) capitalized: Pharisaism
Pharisaism (uncountable)
- Alternative letter-case form of pharisaism.
- The man who thinks that his religion is the sum-total of the religious dogmas he believes in, who thinks that to live in harmony with the allhood of things it requires only that one subscribe to certain prescribed religious dogmas, in whose mind the means of salvation is simply frequency and...1909, Nicholas Murray Butler, Frank Pierrepont Graves, Charles Alexander Nelson, Educational Review - Volume 37, page 383
Forms of pharisaism
| plural | pharisaisms |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Pharisaism |
| alternative form | Phariseeism |
Origin of pharisaism
From Late Latin Pharisaismus, from Pharĭsaeus (“Pharisee”) + -ismus (“-ism”); compare French Pharisaïsme, Italian Fariseismo (archaic), farisaismo.
Questions about pharisaism
- What does pharisaism mean?
- Pharisaism means the doctrines and practices, or the character and spirit, of the Pharisees.
- What part of speech is pharisaism?
- Pharisaism is a noun.
- How do you pronounce pharisaism?
- Pharisaism is pronounced /ˈfaɹ.ɪˌseɪ.ɪz.(ə)m/ (UK).
- What is the plural of pharisaism?
- The plural of pharisaism is pharisaisms.
Words near pharisaism in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pharisaism (page history and authors); Pharisaism (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-pharisaism.opus, en-us-pharisaism.opus.
Cite this entry: “pharisaism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pharisaism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.