Synonyms of sectarian

sectarian 1 of 2

adjective

sek-ˈter-ē-ən 

as in parochial

not broad or open in views or opinions

there are people on both the left and the right who have staked out unyielding sectarian positions in this debate

Synonyms & Similar Words

• parochial
• petty
• small
• narrow
• provincial
• insular
• little
• narrow-minded
• illiberal
• stubborn
• partisan
• Lilliputian
• small-minded
• bigoted
• picayune
• rigid
• discriminatory
• reactionary
• dogmatic
• obstinate
• intolerant
• wrongheaded
• obdurate
• ironbound
• biased
• partial
• prejudiced
• discriminating
• limited
• hidebound
• inflexible
• jaundiced
• unyielding
• stodgy
• opinionated
• old-fashioned
• one-sided
• opinionative
• straitlaced
• unsophisticated
• stuffy
• set
• hick
• brassbound

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• catholic
• cosmopolitan
• tolerant
• open
• receptive
• objective
• impartial
• nonpartisan
• unbiased
• unprejudiced
• broad-minded
• open-minded
• freethinking

sectarian

2 of 2

noun

as in partisan

one who stubbornly or intolerantly adheres to his or her own opinions and prejudices

charged that the work of Congress has been stymied by sectarians who are indifferent to reason and intolerant of compromise

Synonyms & Similar Words

• partisan
• nationalist
• fanatic
• bigot
• dogmatist
• racist
• purist
• dogmatizer
• doctrinaire
• supremacist
• chauvinist
• jingoist
• racialist
• sexist

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• freethinker
• latitudinarian

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sectarian

Adjective

In the months after Assad’s fall in Syria, there were several eruptions of violence between groups loyal and opposed to al-Sharaa that spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks, in which Sunni Islamist fighters affiliated with the new government carried out attacks on Alawite and Druze civilians. — ABC News, 28 June 2026

During the Biden administration, the DSA hemorrhaged members amid sectarian infighting, especially over Palestine. — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 June 2026

Noun

Quite the contrary, the image of the cross makes the war memorial sectarian. — Robert Barnes, Anchorage Daily News, 20 June 2019

Lebanon’s unique sectarian make up and place in the region make its politics about local issues like jobs, infrastructure, and garbage collection as well as about regional rivalries and alliances. — Ben Hubbard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018