Word
catholic
US/ˈkæθɫɪk/
UK/kˈæθlɪk/
Definitions
01wide-ranging
adj. including many different things; having wide or varied interests.
adj. universal in scope; including or covering a wide diversity of things or interests.
“She has very catholic tastes in music, listening to everything from opera to heavy metal.”
“The professor's catholic interests spanned from medieval literature to modern quantum physics, making him a fascinating conversationalist.”
Formal
Usage
Usually placed before the noun; note the lowercase 'c' to distinguish it from the religious sense.
02religious
adj. relating to the Roman Catholic Church.
adj. pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church or the whole body of Western Christendom.
“They attend a Catholic church in the city centre every Sunday morning.”
“The local Catholic school has seen a significant increase in enrollment over the last decade due to its strong academic reputation.”
Usage
Always capitalised when referring to the specific religious denomination.
Synonyms
Antonyms
03a person
n. a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
n. a member of the Catholic Church, particularly the Roman Catholic branch.
“He was raised as a Catholic but he does not go to church often now.”
“As a devout Catholic, she spent much of her free time volunteering for the parish's outreach programmes.”
Etymology
From Old French catholique, from Latin catholicus, from Ancient Greek καθολικός (katholikós, “universal”), from κατά (katá, “according to”) + ὅλος (hólos, “whole”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Idioms
is a bear Catholic — Obviously! Rhetorical question in response to a question where the answer is an emphatic yes.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/catholic