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Webster 1913 Edition


Evangelical

Eˊvan-gel′ic-al

,
Adj.
1.
Contained in, or relating to, the four Gospels;
as, the
evangelical
history
.
2.
Belonging to, agreeable or consonant to, or contained in, the gospel, or the truth taught in the New Testament;
as,
evangelical
religion
.
3.
Earnest for the truth taught in the gospel; strict in interpreting Christian doctrine; preëminently orthodox; – technically applied to that party in the Church of England, and in the Protestant Episcopal Church, which holds the doctrine of “Justification by Faith alone;” the Low Church party. The term is also applied to other religious bodies not regarded as orthodox.
Evangelical Alliance
,
an alliance for mutual strengthening and common work, comprising Christians of different denominations and countries, organized in Liverpool, England, in 1845.
Evangelical Church
.
(a)
The Protestant Church in Germany.
(b)
A church founded by a fusion of Lutherans and Calvinists in Germany in 1817.
Evangelical Union
,
a religious sect founded in Scotland in 1843 by the
Rev. James Morison
; – called also
Morisonians
.

Eˊvan-gel′ic-al

,
Noun.
One of evangelical principles.

Definition 2024


Evangelical

Evangelical

See also: evangelical

English

Adjective

Evangelical

  1. Of, or relating to any of several Christian Churches that believe in the sole authority of the gospels
  2. Of, or relating to Protestant (especially Lutheran) Churches in Germany

evangelical

evangelical

See also: Evangelical

English

Adjective

evangelical (comparative more evangelical, superlative most evangelical)

  1. Pertaining to the gospel(s) of the Christian New Testament
  2. Pertaining to the doctrines or teachings of the Christian gospel or Christianity in general.
  3. Protestant; specifically, designating European churches which were originally Lutheran rather than Calvinist.
  4. Pertaining to a movement in Protestant Christianity that stresses personal conversion and the authority of the Bible (evangelicalism).
  5. Pertaining to Islamic groups that are dedicated to dawah and preaching the Quran and sunnah.
    • 1987, Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Islamic Values in the United States: A Comparative Study, Page 10
      When the mosque came under the influence of an evangelical Muslim group (Jamaati Tableegh), the formerly congenial situation changed noticeably.
  6. Zealously enthusiastic.

Antonyms

Synonyms

Usage notes

While evangelical may have all above meanings, it is often used now for meaning 4.

Evangelic has only the meanings 1-3 and is now used often to differentiate these meanings from evangelicalism.

Translations

Noun

evangelical (plural evangelicals)

  1. A member of an evangelical church
  2. An advocate of evangelicalism

Related terms