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

The initial proposal, debated since 2019, has exposed sectarian tensions among the country’s multitude of Islamic and Christian sects. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly has pushed back on suggestions that the agreement represents the creation of a new sectarian or military bloc, saying it is not connected to nuclear ambitions or an arms race. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 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