Standard Lemma guide

ecumenism

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /iːˈkjuː.mə.nɪzm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˌɛk.jʊˈmɛ.nɪzm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Ecumenical doctrines and practices, especially as manifested in the ecumenical movement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ecumenicalism, ecumenicism, ecumenicity

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(Christianity) the doctrine of the ecumenical movement that promotes cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations: aimed at universal Christian unity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ecumenicism, ecumenicalism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: religious doctrine, church doctrine, gospel, creed

3

noun

Meaning 3

a movement promoting union between religions (especially between Christian churches)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: oecumenism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: movement, social movement, front

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English ecumene Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English ecumenism From ecumene + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: ecumenisme — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Chinese Mandarin: 普世教會合一運動 /普世教会合一运动 (pǔshì jiàohuì héyī yùndòng) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Danish: økumeni — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Finnish: ekumenia — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • French: œcuménisme — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Georgian: ეკუმენიზმი (eḳumenizmi) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • German: Ökumene — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • German: Ökumenismus — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Greek: οικουμενισμός (oikoumenismós) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Hungarian: ökumenizmus — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Interlingua: ecumenismo — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Irish: éacúiméineachas — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Italian: ecumenismo — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Japanese: 世界教会主義 (sekaikyokaijugi) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Japanese: エキュメニズム — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Kazakh: экуменизм (ékumenizm) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Korean: 교회 일치 운동 (gyohoe ilchi undong) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Latin: oecumenismus — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Malayalam: സഭൈക്യപ്രസ്ഥാനം (sabhaikyaprasthānaṁ) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Norman: êtchuménisme — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Norwegian Bokmål: økumenikk — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: økumenikk — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Persian: نهضت وحدت کلیساها — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Polish: ekumenizm — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Portuguese: ecumenismo — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Romanian: ecumenism — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Russian: экуменизм (ekumenizm) — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Slovak: ekumenizmus — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Spanish: ecumenismo — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Swahili: ekumeni — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Swedish: ekumenik — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Swedish: ekumenism — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Tagalog: pagkamalukubin — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Vietnamese: phong trào Đại kết — ecumenical doctrines and practices
  • Welsh: eciwmeniaeth — ecumenical doctrines and practices