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Webster 1913 Edition


Synteresis

Synˊte-re′sis

,
Noun.
[NL., fr. Gr. [GREEK] preservation, fr. [GREEK] to preserve;
σύν
with + [GREEK] to guard.]
1.
(Med.)
Prophylaxis.
[Obs.]
2.
(Metaph.)
Conscience viewed as the internal repository of the laws of duty.
Whewell.

Definition 2024


synteresis

synteresis

English

Noun

synteresis (uncountable)

  1. (theology, historical) An aspect of one's conscience by which one can judge wrong from right and decide on what makes good conduct (as distinguished from syneidesis).
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Bk.I, New York, 2001, p.166:
      Synteresis, or the purer part of the conscience, is an innate habit, and doth signify “a conservation of the knowledge of the law of God and Nature, to know good or evil”.