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Definition of "popish" [pop•ish]

  • Offensive Of or relating to the popes or the Roman Catholic Church. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "popish" in a sentence
  • "Lutheran authorities inveighed against this remnant of what they called popish and anti-Christian superstition."
  • "From History News Network: Retailers helped establish Christmas as an American tradition by persuading Protestants to overcome centuries of hostility to the holiday, which had long been identified as a popish import."
  • "Probably all these things, even the destruction of shrines and images, reflect a certain rapacity in the king's nature rather than hostility to what would now be called popish practices."