religious
[ri-lij-uh s]
- of, relating to, or concerned with religion: a religious holiday.
- imbued with or exhibiting religion; pious; devout; godly: a religious man.
- scrupulously faithful; conscientious: religious care.
- pertaining to or connected with a monastic or religious order.
- appropriate to religion or to sacred rites or observances.
- a member of a religious order, congregation, etc.; a monk, friar, or nun.
- the religious, devout or religious persons: Each year, thousands of the religious make pilgrimages to the shrine.
Origin of religious
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. reverent. Religious, devout, pious indicate a spirit of reverence toward God. Religious is a general word, applying to whatever pertains to faith or worship: a religious ceremony. Devout indicates a fervent spirit, usually genuine and often independent of outward observances: a deeply devout though unorthodox church member. Pious implies constant attention to, and extreme conformity with, outward observances. It can also suggest sham or hypocrisy: a pious hypocrite. 3. devoted, unswerving, meticulous.
Antonyms
2. impious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for religiously
Contemporary Examples
Congress is now 92 percent Christian, resembling more to a papal enclave than our religiously diverse nation.
Of course, the study makes a point of separating the religiously conservative from the politically conservative.
Christian Right-Wingers Love Porn: New Studies Suggest the Bible Belt Has A Kinky SideAurora Snow
October 11, 2014
It gets even more complicated on “Level 3,” religiously affiliated organizations.
I still have family friends who watch My Cousin Vinny religiously.
My Lunch with Marisa Tomei: The Actress on ‘The Realistic Joneses,’ ‘Girls,’ and de Blasio’s NYCMarlow Stern
April 23, 2014
I watched Laguna Beach, and both of its subsidiaries—The Hills and The City—religiously.
Living Like ‘The Hills’: Kristin Cavallari, Lauren Conrad, and the Phenomenon of Our Current ‘Tastemakers’Erin Cunningham
March 27, 2014
Historical Examples
But I've known every bad place in it, and I've religiously put in your "Come, come, child!"
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
She deserves a social culture, she should be religiously venerated.
FruitfulnessEmile Zola
These did not appeal to me; I was not religiously inclined just then.
Kent Knowles: QuahaugJoseph C. Lincoln
That is to say religiously married, which is all the Church thinks necessary.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
Again we are undone, if the French alliance is not religiously observed.
Patrick HenryMoses Coit Tyler
religious
- of, relating to, or concerned with religion
- pious; devout; godly
- (as collective noun; preceded by the)the religious
- appropriate to or in accordance with the principles of a religion
- scrupulous, exact, or conscientious
- Christianity of or relating to a way of life dedicated to religion by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and defined by a monastic rule
- Christianity a member of an order or congregation living by such a rule; a monk, friar, or nun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for religiously
religious
adj.
c.1200, "devout, pious, imbued with or expressive of religious devotion," from Anglo-French religius, Old French religious (12c., Modern French religieux) and directly from Latin religiosus, from religio (see religion). Meaning "pertaining to religion" is from 1530s. Transferred sense of "scrupulous, exact" is recorded from 1590s. Related: Religiousness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper