established

1. 1
   long-standingadjective

   Accepted and recognized, especially because it has existed or been used for a long time.

   The clinic is an established practice trusted by patients across the region.

   Critics rarely question such established conventions in classical music.

   UsageOften with well or long before it: a well-established firm, a long-established custom.

2. 2
   set upverb

   Simple past and past participle of establish.

   The committee established clear guidelines for the competition.

   Researchers established a link between the two events.

   UsageIn the proving sense, often passive with a that clause: it was established that the claim was false.

3. 3
   official (religion)adjective

   Formally recognized by a state as the official religion or church of its territory.

   Several European nations once had an established church that controlled education.

   Critics argue that an established religion gives unfair advantages to one faith.

   UsageMostly in a few phrases: an established church, the established religion, established status.

   Similarofficial, state

   Note

   A constitutional term rather than a description of age: a church is established by law, not by longevity. Diarmaid MacCulloch's A History of Christianity (2009) describes Anglicanism gaining established status in six of the thirteen American colonies. That is the usual pattern: the status is conferred, and a church can hold it in one territory and lack it in the next. Here the word names a legal fact, not a reputation. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Church establishment is a legal and constitutional status. questions-statements.parliament.uk
   • Diarmaid MacCulloch wrote A History of Christianity, first published in 2009. en.wikipedia.org
   • Anglicanism gained established status in six of the thirteen American colonies. en.wikipedia.org
   • A church's established status can differ between territories. commonslibrary.parliament.uk

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