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
Emmett Coyne, The Hill, 23 May 2025
The rapture once preached and beckoned in churches has been repackaged for secular times: In place of souls ascending to heaven, there are minds preserved digitally—or even bodies kept alive—for eternity.
—John Kaag, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025
Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
These data imply to me that the secular are getting idiocratic faster than the fundamentalists.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2012
See All Example Sentences for secular
Adjective
An ordained clergyman, he was punished for his dissenting beliefs, resulting in his establishing the first secular state, Rhode Island, as a haven and refuge.
—Emmett Coyne, The Hill, 23 May 2025
The rapture once preached and beckoned in churches has been repackaged for secular times: In place of souls ascending to heaven, there are minds preserved digitally—or even bodies kept alive—for eternity.
—John Kaag, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025
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
These data imply to me that the secular are getting idiocratic faster than the fundamentalists.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2012
See All Example Sentences for secular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secular
Adjective
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The people who had higher negativity bias were found to have reduced blood flow in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes — regions critical for decision-making, memory and emotional regulation, according to Amen.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2025
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Stories offer a generosity of space—temporal, emotional, political—that real-time clinical work does not.—
Danielle Ofri,
New Yorker,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Ludacris praises Miller for his affable personality and his ability to explain things in layman’s terms.—
Todd Longwell,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2025
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In layman’s terms, this means that DEB uses plant sugars and natural enzymes to create biobased materials (such as biopolymers) in eco-friendly conditions.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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From a nonreligious perspective, the sense of reverent occasion is palpable, rippling out from Rome.—
Raven Smith,
Vogue,
7 May 2025
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Researchers asked more than 2,000 people from various religious and nonreligious backgrounds to write about their experiences with karma — the belief that good deeds are rewarded, and bad actions are punished — and a common through-line of their responses emerged.—
Kameryn Griesser,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
Noun
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The problem, especially for the layperson, is that the AI generated responses sound so good, that they are taken at face value.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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The updates themselves are rather technical and may not do much to excite a layperson, but the brand’s efforts have been well received by those in the know.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Secular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secular. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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