Sadducee

[ saj-uh-see, sad-yuh- ]

nounJudaism.
  1. a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century b.c. to the 1st century a.d. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah.

Origin of Sadducee

1
before 1000; Middle English sadducees (plural), Old English saddūcēas<Late Latin saddūcaeī<Greek saddoukaîoi<Hebrew ṣədhūqī adherent of Zadok

Other words from Sadducee

  • Sad·du·ce·an, adjective
  • Sad·du·cee·ism, noun

Words Nearby Sadducee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Sadducee in a sentence

  • Not in all that long procession that wound up the stony passage from the west, did he see a single Sadducee.

    The City of Delight | Elizabeth Miller
  • The Sadducee was a man of the world; not in the bad sense, but in the strict sense of the term.

    The Cradle of the Christ | Octavius Brooks Frothingham
  • I was quite drawn out to speak to him; I hardly know how, for I had always thought of him as a worldly Sadducee.

    Adam Bede | George Eliot
  • The wisest Sadducee that ever lived, had he seen a miracle, would not have believed it.

    Rejected of Men | Howard Pyle
  • How was it possible for a Sadducee, who believed in no resurrection, to see a miracle?

    Rejected of Men | Howard Pyle

British Dictionary definitions for Sadducee

Sadducee

/ (ˈsædjʊˌsiː) /


noun
  1. Judaism a member of an ancient Jewish sect that was opposed to the Pharisees, denying the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, and the validity of oral tradition

Origin of Sadducee

1
Old English saddūcēas, via Latin and Greek from Late Hebrew sāddūqi, probably from Sadoq Zadok, high priest and supposed founder of the sect

Derived forms of Sadducee

  • Sadducean, adjective
  • Sadduceeism, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012