1
as in sacred
of, relating to, or used in the practice or worship services of a religion
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote some of the most beautiful religious music in the world
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pious
showing a devotion to God and to a life of virtue
a deeply religious woman who eventually decided to quit her job and to become a nun
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in passionate
having or expressing great depth of feeling
a woman known for embracing various causes with a religious enthusiasm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nun
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of religious
Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
On March 1, at least nine people were killed after Iran struck a synagogue and bomb shelter underneath the religious site in Beit Shemesh, a city about 18 miles west of Jerusalem.
—Keely Bastow, The Washington Examiner, 8 Apr. 2026
Laura Rodríguez Presa, chicagotribune.com, 11 Sep. 2020
See All Example Sentences for religious
Adjective
In the final season of Handmaid’s, Lydia grew increasingly disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the ruling class of Commanders, who do not live up to Gilead’s religious ideals.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
On March 1, at least nine people were killed after Iran struck a synagogue and bomb shelter underneath the religious site in Beit Shemesh, a city about 18 miles west of Jerusalem.
—Keely Bastow, The Washington Examiner, 8 Apr. 2026
Noun
As a young religious, Bishop-elect Lombardo did missionary work in Bolivia and Honduras.
—Laura Rodríguez Presa, chicagotribune.com, 11 Sep. 2020
See All Example Sentences for religious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for religious
Adjective
-
For the birth of WolfVoice's youngest daughter a few years ago, Pipe brought cedar oil, a sacred plant used for prayer, and calmed WolfVoice through her contractions.—
Katheryn Houghton,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2026
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Beyond the food, there are 3 pools, 36 holes of golf, a tennis and pickleball club, and a cultural program that highlights the history of the sacred land the resort sits on.—
Emily Adler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The contrast between svn4vr’s different inflections evokes the spiritual tension of a pious person torn between worldly desire and submission to a higher power.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In addition to the pious, persevering Goma and flawed Chandravati in the mortal realm, in the divine realm there are the goddesses Sati and her reincarnation as Parvati.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Trotsky himself had seen that the pragmatist follower who lacks true belief usually ends up on the other side; a passionate believer who lacks pragmatic planning skills usually ends up dead.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
In his speech during the trophy ceremony, McIlroy dedicated a passionate thank you to his family sitting in the front row.—
Kelly McCarthy,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Arcangela Tarabotti, a seventeenth-century Venetian nun who was put into a convent against her will, wrote a critique of coerced enclosure that begins by eviscerating the idea that men are by nature superior to women.—
Chandler Fritz,
The New York Review of Books,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Alfonso’s nun in her Balenciaga stared out at me dolled up in mine.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Grizzlies were viewed as relatives by many tribes and played an important spiritual role.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The friction comes as the technology continues to worry, on both spiritual and labor grounds, workers across Hollywood.—
Hilary Lewis,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For svn4vr, a devout Christian whose music grapples with the demands of faith, the impulsive workflow conveys a religious fervor.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Her earliest moments in the show have shades of a western—No Country for Old Men with a side of devout Trump supporters, sniffer dogs, petrifying cronies, and balloons stuffed with fentanyl and swallowed with lube.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At Fox, Collier became known for his passional embrace of blockchain, NFTs and the whole Web3 space.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2022
Noun
-
In contrast, a study led by Active Site, a research nonprofit that studies the use of AI in synthetic biology, found that AI help did not lead to significant differences in the ability of novices to complete the complex workflow to produce a virus in a biosafety laboratory.—
Stephen D. Turner,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Our list is filled with PGA Tour stalwarts, LIV Golf superstars and enough up-and-comers to make the novice fan think twice before automatically presuming this title will end up with one of the usual suspects.—
Jason Sobel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Religious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/religious. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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