received wisdom
Commonly held beliefs
Received wisdom is knowledge or opinion widely accepted without much questioning—ideas passed down and taken as true because "everyone knows" them.
The phrase often carries skepticism, implying such beliefs deserve scrutiny: The received wisdom says you should wait an hour after eating to swim, but there's no evidence for it.
Also called conventional wisdom.
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- tenetHeld principle or doctrine
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- truismStatement needing no proof
platitude · cliché · precept · orthodoxy · canon · credo · maxim · adage
Conformity-driven poor decisions
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- herd mentalityTendency to follow crowds
consensus · popular opinion · public opinion · normative · party line · echo chamber · common knowledge · social conformity
Accepted without challenge
- unchallengedFacing no opposition
- assumedTaken as true
- taken for grantedAssumed present, never thanked
- preconceivedFormed beforehand, without basis
unexamined · unscrutinized · reflexive · automatic · default · unverified · secondhand · hearsay
Inherited cultural legacy
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ancestral knowledgeUnderstanding inherited from forebears
oral tradition · time-honored · passed down · generational · mythology · legends · elders · traditional knowledge
dogma
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- tenetHeld principle or doctrine
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
truism · platitude · cliché · precept · orthodoxy · canon · credo · maxim · adage · proverb
groupthink
Conformity-driven poor decisions
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
herd mentality · consensus · popular opinion · public opinion · normative · party line · echo chamber · common knowledge · social conformity
unquestioned
Accepted without challenge
- unchallengedFacing no opposition
- assumedTaken as true
- taken for grantedAssumed present, never thanked
preconceived · unexamined · unscrutinized · reflexive · automatic · default · unverified · secondhand · hearsay · conventional
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
ancestral knowledge · oral tradition · time-honored · passed down · generational · mythology · legends · elders · traditional knowledge · old wives' tales
- folk wisdomproverb, folklore, folk sayings, saying, proverbs
- sayingssayings, saying, proverb, proverbs, adage
- knowledgeknowledge, common knowledge, general knowledge, factual knowledge, prior knowledge
- traditionstradition, custom, customs, cultural practices, rituals
- Assumptionsfalse assumption, stereotypes, generalizations, biases, prejudices
- beliefsbelief, beliefs, creed, creeds, faith
received wisdomindependent thought
Self-directed reasoning
direct experience · original research · personal revelation · discovery · innovation
received wisdomcritical thinking
Objective evaluation of information
heresy · heterodoxy · skepticism · iconoclasm · dissenting opinion
receive, wisdom, receipt, received, receiver, receiving, receptive, receives, receptivity