NONRELIGIOUS Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

nonreligious

adjective

ˌnän-ri-ˈli-jəs

Definition of nonreligious

as in atheistic

lacking religious emotions, principles, or practices grew up in a nonreligious family

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in secular

not involving religion or religious matters a display of nonreligious holiday decorations on municipally owned property

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nonreligious Because Saudi Arabia had not yet been opened to nonreligious tourists—that happened in 2019—many visitors to the country were pilgrims, who didn’t expect flashy meals. — Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 According to the study, more than 97% of religious respondents and 80% of nonreligious respondents said they had been spiritually moved, inspired or comforted by online content. — City News Service, Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026 More than two dozen families from a range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds are challenging the mandate across 22 Texas school districts. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2026 Such statements only alienate nonreligious people without a political home from engaging. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nonreligious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonreligious

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

Unsurprisingly, Mihai and Lisbet begin to wonder whether they are being tried for child abuse or for their refusal to assimilate the progressive, secular-humanist values of their new home country—in other words, for their Christianity.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
Fox News is grappling with many of the same secular trends as its competitors.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of secular

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

The team tested whether the hardware could distinguish temporal patterns using four consecutive input signals that could each be switched on or off.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
Curiously, cobalt was linked with a small rise in amyloid-beta proteins in the inferior temporal cortex.

— Mike McRae August 31, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of temporal

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

The expert was expected to say the positioning of the bodies, the branches on the remains, the outdoor location of the crime and knife wounds to the victims all were indications of pagan rituals.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
Defense attorneys planned to present a theory that the two girls were killed in a pagan ritual by Odinists.

— Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 21 Sep. 2026