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Synonyms

theism

American  
[thee-iz-uhm] / ˈθi ɪz əm /

noun

  1. the belief in one God as the creator and ruler of the universe, without rejection of revelation (deism ).

  2. belief in the existence of a god or gods (atheism ).

theism British  
/ ˈθiːɪzəm /

noun

  1. the form of the belief in one God as the transcendent creator and ruler of the universe that does not necessarily entail further belief in divine revelation Compare deism

  2. the belief in the existence of a God or gods Compare atheism

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nontheistic adjective
  • nontheistical adjective
  • nontheistically adverb
  • theist noun
  • theistic adjective
  • theistical adjective
  • theistically adverb
  • untheistic adjective
  • untheistical adjective
  • untheistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of theism

First recorded in 1670–80; the- + -ism

Compare meaning

How does theism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

References to the Creator and Nature’s God in the Declaration reflect a general theism that could be acceptable to Christians, Unitarians, deists and others.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2024

Many who regard theism as a backward-looking social force might usefully consider how each of these holidays contains the seeds of rebellion.

From Washington Post • Apr. 17, 2022

Why not deism instead of theism, or pantheism instead of either?

From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2021

I represented the agnostic position and David Lahti, a biologist and philosopher at the City University of New York, a position more friendly to theism.

From Scientific American • May 19, 2019

This was inevitable in an age saturated with the adverse ideals of the classical Revival, when Platonic theism threatened to supplant Christianity, and society was clogged with frigid cynicism.

From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by Symonds, John Addington

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.