variants
also schismatical
as in sectarian
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in separatist
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Recent Examples of schismatic
Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
But Barzani’s setback only birthed a schismatic new cadre of Kurdish leaders.
—Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which didn't recognize the authority of the Russian church and had been regarded as schismatic, was granted full recognition in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Orthodoxy's top authority.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2023
The necessarily schismatic nature of the civil-rights movement, encompassing godless socialists as well as evangelical Christians, was exactly the right place for someone with a Friends background to flourish.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Novatian: one of an early Christian schismatic sect existing from A.D. 251 to the 6th or 7th century that denied that the church should restore lapsed Christians to membership and advocated a rigidly purist conception of church membership.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
The fracture widens and hardens—fanatic, schismatic, idiotic.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2022
The calls-and-responses between strings and winds in the middle of the first movement dramatically seesawed tempos, whetting Tchaikovsky’s schismatic emotional contrasts to sharp points.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2022
This decree reversed the policy of Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2007 loosened restrictions on the Latin Mass in order to improve relations with schismatic traditionalist groups, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
—Grayson Quay, The Week, 19 Dec. 2021
Ian Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
This situation has arisen because the head of state, President Poroshenko, turned to the patriarch in Constantinople to give autocephaly to the schismatics.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2019
How much backing the schismatics might have among AK voters is unclear.
—The Economist, 6 June 2019
In 1997 the patriarch of the Russian church excommunicated him and declared his followers schismatics.
—Michael Khodarkovsky, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2018
Adjective
The potential members of a schismatic Catholic sect are located in areas of the world such as the United States, where the church has significant financial resources and assets, plus a wide array of independent Catholic institutions that operate largely outside the hierarchy of the church.
—Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
But Barzani’s setback only birthed a schismatic new cadre of Kurdish leaders.
—Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which didn't recognize the authority of the Russian church and had been regarded as schismatic, was granted full recognition in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Orthodoxy's top authority.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2023
The necessarily schismatic nature of the civil-rights movement, encompassing godless socialists as well as evangelical Christians, was exactly the right place for someone with a Friends background to flourish.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Novatian: one of an early Christian schismatic sect existing from A.D. 251 to the 6th or 7th century that denied that the church should restore lapsed Christians to membership and advocated a rigidly purist conception of church membership.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
The fracture widens and hardens—fanatic, schismatic, idiotic.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2022
The calls-and-responses between strings and winds in the middle of the first movement dramatically seesawed tempos, whetting Tchaikovsky’s schismatic emotional contrasts to sharp points.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2022
This decree reversed the policy of Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2007 loosened restrictions on the Latin Mass in order to improve relations with schismatic traditionalist groups, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
—Grayson Quay, The Week, 19 Dec. 2021
Noun
In 1935, Pope Pius XI openly supported the invasion of Ethiopia as a crusade against a country of heretics, schismatics, pagans, and infidels.
—Ian Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
This situation has arisen because the head of state, President Poroshenko, turned to the patriarch in Constantinople to give autocephaly to the schismatics.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2019
How much backing the schismatics might have among AK voters is unclear.
—The Economist, 6 June 2019
In 1997 the patriarch of the Russian church excommunicated him and declared his followers schismatics.
—Michael Khodarkovsky, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schismatic
Adjective
-
The ongoing clashes have prompted reports of around 1,400 civilians killed, mostly Alawites, across the provinces of Latakia and Tartus, as well as the outskirts of Hama and Homs, in some of the worst sectarian bloodshed of the entire civil war.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
-
For half a century, Hafez al-Assad and his son, Bashar, ruled Syria ruthlessly, enduring wars, rebellions, and uprisings while stoking sectarian fears to deter calls for change.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The region is internationally considered part of Azerbaijan but for decades was under the control of Armenian separatists.—
Caitlin Danaher and Gul Tuysuz,
CNN,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago and has gobbled up big chunks of the Donbas region that had been controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists since 2014.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Some have held him up as a renegade, choosing freedom over the comforts of domestic life.—
Rick Rojas,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
-
To someone, the renegade and pop-culture memes might be worth a few months’ rent.—
Hank Sanders,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Schismatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schismatic. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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