English Reference
noun

dogma

n.
US /ˈdɑɡmə/ UK /dˈɒɡmɐ/ dog·ma UK spelling dogma's, dogma's

  1. 01 C1 Advanced Formal

    a belief or rule that people are expected to accept as true without any doubt or proof.

    an authoritative principle or statement of opinion, especially one considered to be indisputable regardless of evidence.

    Simple

    The company's old dogma prevented them from trying new technology.

    In context

    Political dogma can sometimes blind leaders to the practical realities of the economic crisis they are trying to solve.

  2. 02 C1 Advanced FormalTechnical Religion

    the official teachings of a church or religious group.

    a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church.

    Simple

    The priest explained the central dogma of the church to the new members.

    In context

    Scholars spent centuries debating the nuances of church dogma regarding the nature of the soul.

    canonarticle of faith

For women in particular, life became brutally circumscribed by religious dogma.

The Guardian· 17 Aug 2026

Dogma has held that any other sequence in that spot will cause the tRNA to be flagged as defective.

Phys.org· 26 Aug 2026

From Latin dogma (“philosophical tenet”), from Ancient Greek δόγμα (dógma, “opinion, tenet”), from δοκέω (dokéō, “I seem good, think”). Treated in the 17th and 18th century as Greek, with plural dogmata. Compare decent.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Ancient Greek δόγμα
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated