a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.
a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.
(in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.
any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.
a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole) the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc
derogatory
a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churches
a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical
a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc; faction
1300–50; Middle English secte < Latin secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, probably noun derivative of sectārī to pursue, accompany, wait upon, frequentative of sequī to follow
From Latin sectus, past participle of secāre “to cut”
A sect is a religious group that exists inside of a larger religion. Think of it as a section of a particular religion. Although objectively speaking a sect is merely a subdivision of a larger religious group, the word often carries with it the feeling of a part of a religion that has broken away. It often has a negative connotation in English because it implies that the group departed from what was standard to believe something different or odd. If you are comparing two sects you might talk about their sectarian differences.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not all Shias saw Khamenei as their principal religious guide, but he became widely respected as a clerical authority and for standing up for a sect that has historically felt persecuted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Thousands of members of a powerful Philippine religious sect rallied in Manila on Tuesday, snarling traffic as they protested the expected arrest of a senator and church member.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The hair-whipping, chest-thumping church founder uprooted her polarizing sect from Manchester, England, to Manhattan before fleeing farther still into the countryside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
The sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam whose members make up one of the country's biggest religious minorities.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
I scribbled Okay on my own notebook and then turned to a blank page as Dr. Hyde started talking about Sufism, the mystical sect of Islam.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Palmatifid, -lobed, -sect, palmately cleft, or lobed, or divided.
From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa
“His followers go along with what he says as if they were members of a sect. If he says it’s no problem to go out, people believe him,” Marino said.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2020
Whether a summons should be taken out before a magistrate against the Lady Superior of the convent, for enticing away or detaining the infant, under the 56th sect. of 24 and 25 Vict., c.
From Ginx's Baby: his birth and other misfortunes; a satire by Jenkins, Edward
And further, in sect. vii. of the Lively Oracles, n. 2., are these words, w'ch I think cannot agree to Bp.
From Notes and Queries, Number 49, October 5, 1850 by Various
Gentlemen, you will find a very circumstantial account of the Sicarii in at least three different parts of Josephus; once in Book XX. sect. v. c.
From Miscellaneous Essays by De Quincey, Thomas
Reform., p. 367.456.Annot. on Matt. xv., sect. 5.457.3, quest.
From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by Gillespie, George
Its tens of thousands of active-duty soldiers reflect the mosaic that is the country, with representation from all sects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
"All sects used to celebrate with us, and we hope to see this in the coming years, in order to rebuild Syria," she added.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
People who had travelled to Idlib to see him said that he had developed a much more pragmatic set of beliefs, better suited to governing Syria, with its spectrum of religious sects.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
In the end, wrote Burger, the track record of the Amish in maintaining alternative modes of informal vocational education was a showing “that probably few other religious groups or sects could make.”
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2025
Moved by the reasons stated above, I believe, the Venetians encouraged the Guelf and Ghibelline sects in their subject cities.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
