religiously

[ri-lij-uhs-lee]

adverb

1. in a way that is related to or concerned with religion.

   We believe matters of faith should be handled by religiously educated staff.

2. faithfully, sincerely, and with pious devotion.

   The tribe religiously observes the rite of ancestral veneration as an integral part of their cultural heritage.

3. with scrupulous or conscientious regularity or diligence.

   Initially I took composting very seriously; I made a perfectly square pair of bins for composting and turned my piles religiously.

4. habitually or without fail.

   Religiously, every Saturday night, I recorded my favorite comedy show on BBC Radio.

Other Word Forms

• antireligiously adverb
• nonreligiously adverb
• overreligiously adverb
• pseudoreligiously adverb
• quasi-religiously adverb
• ultrareligiously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of religiously¹

religious ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

In June, he was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court of a religiously aggravated public order offence and fined £240.

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The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales has risen for the first time in three years, including increases in race and religiously motivated offences, Home Office figures suggest.

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We religiously watched “In Living Color” every Sunday.

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However, he added: "If events change, I'm not necessarily going to be stuck religiously in one way of thinking," adding the country was in "a reasonably turbulent place".

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Ionut-Cristian Bold, 37, of no fixed address, has been charged with six counts of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage as well as one count of racially or religiously aggravated harassment without violence.

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Related Words

• automatically 
• commonly 
• faithfully 
• frequently 
• repeatedly 
• routinely 
• systematically 
• usually