Interreligious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the exchanges and dialogues among various faith systems
2. Concerning engagement and collaboration between distinct religious communities
3. Pertaining to matters or activities that include more than one religion

Etymology: "Interreligious" is a plain English compound, built from the Latin prefix "inter-", meaning "between" or "among", attached to "religious". Its parts reach back through Latin, where "inter" descends from the same ancient root that gave Latin its word for "between" and that lies behind many other English prefixes. The Latin prefix entered English as a productive building block, so English speakers could attach it to almost any adjective to describe a relationship between two or more things of that kind. "Interreligious" therefore needs no special history of its own: it simply means relations, dialogue, or exchanges between different faiths. Its meaning follows directly from its parts, with no shift from an earlier sense.

Synonyms: ecumenical, interfaith, multireligious, cross-religious, interdenominational

Antonyms: sectarian, exclusive, divisive, narrow-minded, intolerant