LAICAL Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

laical

adjective

variants or laic

Definition of laical

as in irreligious

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for laical

Adjective

Because materialism had an irreligious connotation, Hattem says it was left out of the national conversation until the Gilded Age of the 1920s, when people start saying the quiet part out loud.

— Cari Shane, USA Today, 25 June 2026
This story is told by an unnamed narrator, an irreligious woman who has joined the nuns as a lay resident after her faith in environmental advocacy crumbled.

— Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026

Definition of irreligious

Adjective

In August, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas ordered the case be dismissed, saying secular courts cannot intervene in church governance.

— Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
An unshakable moat The industrial gas ecosystem is driven by broad secular trends, including the reshoring of manufacturing, advanced semiconductor nodes and carbon capture infrastructure.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of secular

Adjective

Spiritual connections with monks A foundational feature of Theravada Buddhism is the relationship between monastics and the lay people.

— Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026
Surrounding ourselves with the best people and working on our team, developing ourselves and not just our staff but also our lay leaders.

— Jessica Tzikas, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of lay

Adjective

His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.

— Jacqui Frost, The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2024

Definition of atheistic

Adjective

Seeing those ancient sculptures would have a lasting impact on Cabrera, whose work contained forms that recall pagan ritual and prehistoric objects.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
The denials followed the Temple's Capitol holiday display in 2023, centered on a statue of the pagan idol Baphomet, alongside other religious displays allowed by the state.

— William Morris, Des Moines Register, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of pagan

Adjective

Up to that point, America’s external enemy—the godless Soviets—gave the movement coherence and urgency.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
Sometimes this was committed to good, such as the Marshall Plan and the Peace Corps, and sometimes to ill, as in a series of military blunders meant to quash godless Communism.

— Jim Rasenberger, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026

Definition of godless

Adjective

At Tabernacle of Glory, a nondenominational Christian megachurch in Miami Gardens, pastors are being inundated with requests from members who need help with food, rent and legal services.

— Lauren Costantino September 19, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026
And then in high school, kind of toward the end, I got really involved with my youth group at my church, which was a nondenominational church.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of nondenominational

Adjective

One of those laws, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, states a charter school must be nonsectarian.

— Beth Wallis, StateImpact, 10 May 2026
The National Day of Prayer, while officially nonsectarian, has long been drawn particular promotion and participation from evangelical Christians.

— Peter Smith, Twin Cities, 21 Apr. 2026

Definition of nonsectarian

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lags

laical

laid

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“Laical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laical. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of laical

adjective

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