Meanings
Arian1
plural Arians
- historicalChristianityA supporter of the Cyrenaic monk Arius and his faction in the 4th-century Church.
The Arians celebrated the virtue of their pious confessor; the Catholics ambitiously claimed his alliance; and the Pagans, who might be susceptible of shame or remorse, were deterred from the repetition of such unavailing cruelty.
1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XXIII, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC
- not comparableChristianityOf or pertaining to Arius or Arianism.
The highways of the East were crowded with Homoousian, and Arian, and Semi-Arian, and Eunomian bishops, who struggled to outstrip each other in the holy race: […].
1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XXV, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC1 more example
He flirts with the Arian heresy, which doubted Jesus’s full divinity, and he embraces Quaker-style religious pacifism, arguing that just-war theory is out of date in an age of nuclear arms and total war.
2015 April 19, Ross Douthat, “Will Pope Francis Break the Church?”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN
Arian2
comparative more Arian · superlative most Arian
Arian3
Arian4
alternative Areian
- historicalnot comparableOf or related to Aria, the region around Herat in Afghanistan, particularly in the context of its ancient history.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of unitarian, any Christian who denies the Trinity.
nounSynonym of heretic, any Christian differing from any of the beliefs of the speaker.
nounSynonym of Aries, a person born under the influence of Aries.
adjectiveOf or related to Aries, its nature, and its influence.
Origin
Arian · noun, adjective
- Ancient GreekἌρειος
- Late LatinArianus
- EnglishArian
From Late Latin Arianus, from Arius + -ānus (“-an: forming adjectives”), from Ancient Greek Ἄρειος (Áreios), from ἄρειος (áreios, “Arean, warlike”), from Ἄρης (Árēs, “Ares”) + -ιος (-ios, “-y: forming adjectives”). Cf. Arean.
More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ариански
- ариански (arianski)pertaining to Arianism
Catalan arià, arrià
- ariàbeliever of Arian Christianity
- arriàbeliever of Arian Christianity
- ariàpertaining to Arianism
- arriàpertaining to Arianism
Chinese Mandarin 阿里烏教派的
- 阿里烏教派的 (Ālǐwū jiàopài de)pertaining to Arianism
Finnish areiolainen, areiolainen
- areiolainenbeliever of Arian Christianity
- areiolainenpertaining to Arianism
French arien, arien
- arienbeliever of Arian Christianity
- arienpertaining to Arianism
German Arianer, Arianerin
- Arianerbeliever of Arian Christianity
- Arianerinbeliever of Arian Christianity
- arianischpertaining to Arianism
Greek αρειανός
- αρειανός (areianós)pertaining to Arianism
Japanese アリウス派の
- アリウス派の (Ariusu-ha no)pertaining to Arianism
Korean 아리우스파의
- 아리우스파의 (Ariuseupa-ui)pertaining to Arianism
Norwegian arianer
- arianerbeliever of Arian Christianity
Polish arianin, arianka
- arianinbeliever of Arian Christianity
- ariankabeliever of Arian Christianity
- ariańskipertaining to Arianism
Portuguese ariano, ariano
- arianobeliever of Arian Christianity
- arianopertaining to Arianism
Russian ариа́нин, ариа́нка
- ариа́нин (ariánin)believer of Arian Christianity
- ариа́нка (ariánka)believer of Arian Christianity
- ариа́нский (ariánskij)pertaining to Arianism
Spanish ariano, ariano
- arianobeliever of Arian Christianity
- arianopertaining to Arianism
Swedish arian, ariansk
- arianbeliever of Arian Christianity
- arianskpertaining to Arianism
Tagalog Aryano, Ariano
- Aryanobeliever of Arian Christianity
- Arianobeliever of Arian Christianity
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Arian
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Arian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arian
“Arian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arian. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Arian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arian.
Source: Arian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.