Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Dogma?

\Dog"ma\, n.; pl. E. {Dogmas}, L. {Dogmata}. [L. dogma, Gr. ?, pl. ?, fr. ? to think, seem, appear; akin to L. decet it is becoming. Cf. {Decent}.] 1. That which is held as an opinion; a tenet; a doctrine. The obscure and loose dogmas of early antiquity. -- Whewell. 2. A formally stated and authoritatively settled doctrine; a definite, established, and authoritative tenet. 3. A doctrinal notion asserted without regard to evidence or truth; an arbitrary dictum. Syn: tenet; opinion; proposition; doctrine. Usage: -- {Dogma}, {Tenet}. A tenet is that which is maintained as true with great firmness; as, the tenets of our holy religion. A dogma is that which is laid down with authority as indubitably true, especially a religious doctrine; as, the dogmas of the church. A tenet rests on its own intrinsic merits or demerits; a dogma rests on authority regarded as competent to decide and determine. Dogma has in our language acquired, to some extent, a repulsive sense, from its carrying with it the idea of undue authority or assumption. This is more fully the case with its derivatives dogmatical and dogmatism.