as in temporal
not involving religion or religious matters
that's an issue for the secular authorities, not the church
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Recent Examples of secular
Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
His selection of works, for example, mixed the sacred with the secular, interspersing chorale preludes (which use Lutheran hymns as their point of departure) with the six trio sonatas for organ.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022
Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Most of the scholars Wiese discusses were rabbis, whether more traditional ones or proponents of radical reform, and this reflects the degree to which secular Jewish Studies, housed in nonsectarian universities, took longer to develop.
—Josh Lambert, JSTOR Daily, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secular
Adjective
There was a change of heart among the secular nationalists during the second intifada—which started in 2000 and ended in 2005—in which seculars also joined forces.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
His selection of works, for example, mixed the sacred with the secular, interspersing chorale preludes (which use Lutheran hymns as their point of departure) with the six trio sonatas for organ.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022
Noun
Two years later, the monarchy was abolished, and Nepal, the world’s sole Hindu kingdom, proclaimed itself a secular republic.
—Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Most of the scholars Wiese discusses were rabbis, whether more traditional ones or proponents of radical reform, and this reflects the degree to which secular Jewish Studies, housed in nonsectarian universities, took longer to develop.
—Josh Lambert, JSTOR Daily, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secular
Adjective
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This temporal blurring between past and present is echoed in the structure of the installation itself, which creates a kind of time loop between the two films, shuttling the viewer between the immediate danger of the war’s outbreak and the lingering trauma of its memory.—
Joanna Warsza,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
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Las acciones de Google son especialmente insensibles y graves ante el cierre administrativo temporal del gobierno (shutdown), ignorando las peticiones de funcionarios gubernamentales y organizaciones hispanas que les solicitaron mantener la programación de Univision en el paquete principal.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For laymen, these molecules are involved in chemical reactions that lead to more complex molecules essential to organic life.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
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Still, this hasn't quelled the anxieties of anyone with a professional or layman's interest in space science.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The suit was filed by 15 Texas families with multifaith and nonreligious backgrounds against 14 school districts, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Northwest, Azle and Mansfield ISDs.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, some opponents – including Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu and nonreligious plaintiffs – do not necessarily wish to remove religion entirely from educational institutions.—
Lydia Artz,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Why OpenAI wants massive computing power The kind of numbers OpenAI and friends throw around—10 gigawatts here, $500 billion there—are somewhat staggering and mind-boggling in scope for the layperson who might not be familiar with the massive scale of Internet infrastructure.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Sep. 2025
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By now, even the layperson understands that artificial intelligence data is a garbage-in-garbage-out conundrum.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Secular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secular. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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