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
Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The letter specified some examples of how religious expression in public schools should be treated the same as secular expression.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for secular
Adjective
There will be groups big and small, religious and secular, traditional and contemporary, gay, lesbian and straight, and English- and Spanish- speaking.
—Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
The letter specified some examples of how religious expression in public schools should be treated the same as secular expression.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for secular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secular
Adjective
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The designer Jorge Ballina, whose work has not been previously seen at Lyric, imagines this location, both physical and temporal, as a portal drawn from traditional Day of the Dead iconography but also from the artwork of both Kahlo and Rivera.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
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Its lifeworld, its temporal and spatial perspective, contrasts with the human, rendering our characters as distant, as inanimate, as the stelae and sculptures that surround them.—
Ben Lerner,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The pipeline will provide up to 185,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas, an industry term that Fore admitted was difficult to explain for laymen.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
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From my layman’s perspective, this seemed promising, plus the attorney seemed invested.—
Jasper Craven,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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About 7 in 10 nonreligious voters supported Harris.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
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After her death, Begel found comfort in the Catholic faith after years of being nonreligious.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Moreover, the dashboard itself is very difficult for parents and other laypersons to understand.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
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This reasonableness standard is what a city, state, or federal agency would assess when deciding whether to indict an agent for any criminal activity, and it’s evaluated from the perspective of a law enforcement official, not a layperson, German explains.—
Lila Hassan,
Wired News,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secular. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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