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schism.

A split or separation within a group or organization, typically caused by discord.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈskɪzəm//ˈsɪzəm//ˈʃɪzəm/
  1. A split or separation within a group or organization, typically caused by discord.

    A schism broke the organization into two rivals.
  2. A movement or organization that splits off from a larger body.

    He founded a schism that eventually rivaled the original organization in size.
  3. A formal division or split within a religious body.

    The schism between Sunnis and Shias happened quite early in Islamic history.
  4. A split within Christianity whereby a group is no longer in communion with the Church or its ecclesiastical authorities, but shares essentially the same beliefs; in other words, a political split without the introduction of heresy.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English scisme, from Old French cisme or scisme, from Ancient Greek σχίσμα (skhísma, “division”), from σχίζω (skhízō, “I split”). Doublet of schisma. Compare chasm. This word was historically pronounced /ˈsɪzəm/ (and still is among the clergy); the pronunciations /ˈʃɪzəm/, /ˈskɪzəm/ are due to the spelling (the latter may have been reinforced by learned influence); compare schedule.

verb/ˈskɪzəm//ˈsɪzəm//ˈʃɪzəm/
  1. To split, divide (a group or organization).

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English scisme, from Old French cisme or scisme, from Ancient Greek σχίσμα (skhísma, “division”), from σχίζω (skhízō, “I split”). Doublet of schisma. Compare chasm. This word was historically pronounced /ˈsɪzəm/ (and still is among the clergy); the pronunciations /ˈʃɪzəm/, /ˈskɪzəm/ are due to the spelling (the latter may have been reinforced by learned influence); compare schedule.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.