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
On trips to Spain this month and France in September, Leo will find thousands of young people like her in these traditionally Catholic but now staunchly secular countries, where historic churches are abundant and Mass attendance is sparse.
—
ABC News, 1 June 2026
This growth is one of the clearest secular trends in global finance.
—Hersh Shefrin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Members of the administration have framed such viewpoints as secular attacks on the Christian beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 28 May 2026
France might be an adamantly secular state, but its pastry shops like to flirt with religion.
—Jen Rose Smith, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for secular
ABC News, 1 June 2026
This growth is one of the clearest secular trends in global finance.
—Hersh Shefrin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Members of the administration have framed such viewpoints as secular attacks on the Christian beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 28 May 2026
France might be an adamantly secular state, but its pastry shops like to flirt with religion.
—Jen Rose Smith, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for secular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secular
Adjective
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The patterns for specific cities aren’t predictable like temporal seasons, reflecting instead unique elements of each.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
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But during the imaging process, doctors noticed something else entirely — a four-centimeter mass in the left temporal region of Linkin's brain.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
Adjective
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Florida statutes creating the charter school framework also require those schools to be nonreligious.—
Gray Rohrer,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
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Republicans vow to appeal Arkansas ruling Last year, seven Arkansas families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s new law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.—
Sara Cline,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secular. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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