secular

Q: Are 'secular' and 'atheist' synonyms?

Although they may often come up in similar contexts, secular and atheist are not synonyms. Secular is most often used as an adjective (although is is also a noun), while atheist is mostly found as a noun ( atheistic and atheistical are the common adjective forms). Additionally, atheist means "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods," whereas secular has a number of meanings, including "not overtly or specifically religious," "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "occurring once in an age or a century."

Q: Is 'secular' always related to religion?

"In contemporary English, secular is primarily used to distinguish something (such as an attitude, belief, or position) that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature (for example, music with no religious connection or affiliation might be described as ""secular""). However, certain meanings of secular do have some basis in religion, such as ""not bound by monastic vows or rules,"" and ""of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation."""

Q: Can 'secular' be a noun?

Secular does have some meanings as a noun, including "an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules; a member of the secular clergy." However, the word meaning "indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations" is secularism rather than secular .

adjective

Save Word

sec·u·lar | \ ˈse-kyə-lər

Essential Meaning of secular

1 : not spiritual : of or relating to the physical world and not the spiritual world secular concerns

2 : not religious secular music a secular society Both secular and religious institutions can apply for the funds.

3 : of, relating to, or controlled by the government rather than by the church : civil secular courts

Full Definition of secular

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : of or relating to the worldly or temporal secular concerns

b : not overtly or specifically religious secular music

c : not ecclesiastical or clerical secular courts secular landowners

2 : not bound by monastic vows or rules specifically : of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation a secular priest

3a : occurring once in an age or a century

b : existing or continuing through ages or centuries

c : of or relating to a long term of indefinite duration secular inflation

secular

noun

sec·u·lar | \ ˈse-kyə-lər

plural seculars or secular

Definition of secular (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules : a member of the secular clergy

2 : layman

Other Words from secular Synonyms & Antonyms Frequently Asked Questions About secular More Example Sentences Learn More About secular

Other Words from secular

Adjective

secularity \ ˌse-kyə-ˈler-ə-tē

, -ˈla-rə- \ noun

secularly \ ˈse-kyə-lər-lē

\ adverb

Synonyms & Antonyms for secular

Synonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Adjective

religious,
sacred

Frequently Asked Questions About secular

Are secular and atheist synonyms?

Although they may often come up in similar contexts, secular and atheist are not synonyms. Secular is most often used as an adjective (although is is also a noun), while atheist is mostly found as a noun (atheistic and atheistical are the common adjective forms). Additionally, atheist means "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods," whereas secular has a number of meanings, including "not overtly or specifically religious," "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "occurring once in an age or a century."

Is secular always related to religion?

"In contemporary English, secular is primarily used to distinguish something (such as an attitude, belief, or position) that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature (for example, music with no religious connection or affiliation might be described as ""secular""). However, certain meanings of secular do have some basis in religion, such as ""not bound by monastic vows or rules,"" and ""of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation."" "

Can secular be a noun?

Secular does have some meanings as a noun, including "an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules; a member of the secular clergy." However, the word meaning "indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations" is secularism rather than secular.

Examples of secular in a Sentence

Adjective Bloomberg, by contrast, would be the most pro-immigration, pro-free trade, pro-Wall Street candidate in the race. The third-party candidate he would most resemble is John Anderson, the fiscally responsible, culturally liberal Republican who ran as an Independent in 1980. Anderson won 7% of the vote, mostly among the young, educated and secular. But today those people are partisan Democrats. — Peter Beinart, Time, 11 Feb. 2008 In the early twentieth century, priests and religious built centers for Catholic study and worship on secular campuses. — Maurice Timothy Reidy, Commonweal, 7 Apr. 2006 Some women, indeed, achieved great renown for their religious scholarship, becoming role models for their peers and silently challenging men, who for so long had held a monopoly in this area. Though they never carried the title of "rabbi" and in many cases eschewed the controversial "f-word" (feminism) altogether, these Orthodox women produced no less a revolution in the late twentieth century than women did in so many other realms, religious and secular alike. By challenging Judaism, they ended up strengthening Judaism. — Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism, 2004 The reforms of the nineteenth century and the needs of commercial and other contacts with Europe led to the enactment of new laws, modeled on those of Europe—commercial, civil, criminal, and finally constitutional. In the traditional order the only lawyers were the ulema, the doctors of the Holy Law, at once jurists and theologians. The secular lawyer, pleading in courts administering secular law, represented a new and influential element in society. — Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong?, 2002 Both secular and religious institutions can apply for the funds. that's an issue for the secular authorities, not the church

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective That was one that wasn’t secular, like vampires that happened a century later. — BostonGlobe.com, 26 Oct. 2021 Yehoshua Blumenthal’s small restaurant was just a year old, a newcomer to a neighborhood that historically was largely secular. — New York Times, 25 Oct. 2021 The most vigorous debate about climate lives on the left, which is largely secular. — David S. Wallace, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2021 In 1953, the CIA's orchestration of a coup d'état that deposed Iran's democratically elected and secular Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in many ways laid the groundwork for a longer pattern. — Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, 5 Aug. 2021 Current efforts to flatten the COVID-19 mental health curve have been almost entirely secular. — David H. Rosmarin, Scientific American, 15 June 2021 Incorporating eight parties from across the political spectrum, the alliance includes factions with strong commitments to Orthodox Jews, others who believe government should be strictly secular, and, for the first time, an Arab Islamist party. — Washington Post, 14 June 2021 His wife, Gilat, a high-end pastry chef, is reported to be secular but a keeper of the Sabbath. — Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2021 In 2014, Archbishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini of Reggio Calabria, where the ’Ndrangheta mob is rooted, proposed a 10-year stop on godfathers, arguing in a letter to Pope Francis that a secular society had spiritually gutted the figure. — New York Times, 16 Oct. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Together in Glasgow, Biden and Francis, two forward-looking Catholics, could have presented an alliance between the secular and the sacred, and between government and civil society. — Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2021 Both confronted the traditional divide between the secular and the sacred in African-American culture. — John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2021 The Israeli Defense Ministry said they are secretly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-wing movement with a political party as well as an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. — Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2021 The Israeli Defense Ministry said they are secretly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-wing movement with a political party as well as an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. — NBC News, 23 Oct. 2021 But provocateur LaBruce doesn’t indulge the secular cant favored by outsider-activists who are intent on demolishing the traditional family in favor of political tribalism. — Armond White, National Review, 22 Sep. 2021 Michel Leiris, who as a young man was friends with him, pointed out in an introduction to The Dice Cup that the title itself has both a secular and a sacred aspect. — Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 25 Feb. 2021 At various intervals throughout his career, Kanye has tried (and, for the most part, failed) to reconcile the secular and the sanctified. — Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2021 Locke’s modern interpreters — from both the secular left and the religious right — often appear ignorant of his scriptural references. — Joseph Loconte, National Review, 4 July 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'secular.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.