nonsectarian
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of nonsectarian
Explanation
You can describe something as nonsectarian if it's not connected or affiliated with any particular religious or political belief. A college is nonsectarian if it isn't associated with a religion or church, and a Sunday school class that teaches all religions is also nonsectarian. Something that's sectarian follows the rules of a particular group or sect, and it's the Latin word secta that's at the root of both sectarian and nonsectarian. The literal meaning of secta is "a way or a road," and its figurative meaning is "a following, school of thought, or religious group."
Vocabulary lists containing nonsectarian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What about universities that are nonsectarian but have values deeply connected to a particular religious community?
From Slate ● May 22, 2025
By the 1970s, however, Christian private schools outnumbered the nonsectarian ones, which inspired political activism among Christian evangelists who had shown little political interest previously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024
Initially women-driven, the nonsectarian center took root in Catholicism long before 1924.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
“We have not financed our schools in a way to make it possible to have truly nonsectarian, religiously pluralistic moments of meditation,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
He put into practice the nonsectarian principle, made the college coeducational, and developed the spirit of individual freedom as one of cardinal importance in education.
From Unitarianism in America by George Willis Cooke
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
