Wahhabi

[ wuh-hah-bee, wah- ]

noun,plural Wah·ha·bis.Islam.
  1. a follower of ʿAbd al-Wahhab (1703–1792), who stringently opposed all practices not sanctioned by the Quran. The Wahhabis, founded in the 18th century, are the most conservative Muslim group and are today found mainly in Saudi Arabia.

Origin of Wahhabi

1
First recorded in 1800–10; from Arabic, equivalent to ʿAbd al-Wahhab + a suffix indicating relationship or origin
  • Also Wa·ha·bi, Wah·ha·bee; Wah·ha·bite, Wa·ha·bite [wuh-hah-bahyt, wah-]. /wəˈhɑ baɪt, wɑ-/.

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

How to use Wahhabi in a sentence

  • The Wahabi leaven has destroyed abuses and has rekindled a purer religious faith.

    The New World of Islam | Lothrop Stoddard
  • He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and there his reformist zeal was still further quickened by the Wahabi teachers.

    The New World of Islam | Lothrop Stoddard

British Dictionary definitions for Wahhabi

Wahhabi

Wahabi

/ (wəˈhɑːbɪ) /


nounplural -bis
  1. a member of a strictly conservative Muslim sect founded in the 18th century with the aim of eliminating all innovations later than the 3rd century of Islam

Derived forms of Wahhabi

  • Wahhabism or Wahabism, 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