creed
- 01 C1 Advanced
a formal statement of religious faith or the shared beliefs of a church.
a formal, authoritative statement of religious doctrine or a confession of faith intended for public use.
Simple“The Nicene Creed is a famous statement of faith used in many Christian churches.”
In context“The theologian argued that the ancient creed provided a necessary framework for maintaining doctrinal unity across the diverse congregations.”
UsageOften used with the definite article when referring to a specific historical document.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a set of personal or political beliefs that guide how you act.
a system of principles or opinions that governs an individual's or group's conduct and philosophy.
Simple“The company's creed focuses on honesty and helping the local community.”
In context“He lived by a strict personal creed that valued intellectual integrity above professional advancement or social popularity.”
Teacher's tipIn modern contexts, this is frequently used in professional or political settings to describe a 'mission statement' or core values.
Synonyms
“We have seen a medley of people come up today, of all races, all religions, all creeds, and this tragedy is just that – it’s a tragedy.”
From Middle English crede, from Old English crēda, crēdo, from Latin crēdō (“I believe”), from Proto-Italic krezdō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱred dʰeh₁- (“to place one's heart, i.e., to trust, believe”), a compound phrase of the oblique case form of *ḱḗr (“heart”). Creed is cognate with Old Irish creitid (“to believe”), Sanskrit श्रद्दधाति (śráddadhāti, “to have faith or faithfulness, to have belief or confidence, believe”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.