secular

American  

[sek-yuh-ler] / ˈsɛk yə lər /

adjective

1. of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal.

   secular interests.

2. not pertaining to or connected with religion (sacred ).

   secular music.

3. (of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.

4. (of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows (regular ).

5. occurring or celebrated once in an age or century.

   the secular games of Rome.

6. going on from age to age; continuing through long ages.

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noun

1. a layperson.

2. one of the secular clergy.

secular British  

/ ˈsɛkjʊlə /

adjective

1. of or relating to worldly as opposed to sacred things; temporal

2. not concerned with or related to religion

3. not within the control of the Church

4. 1. having no particular religious affinities

   2. not including compulsory religious studies or services

5. (of clerics) not bound by religious vows to a monastic or other order

6. occurring or appearing once in an age or century

7. lasting for a long time

8. astronomy occurring slowly over a long period of time

   the secular perturbation of a planet's orbit

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noun

1. a member of the secular clergy

2. another word for layman

secular Cultural  

1. Not concerned with religion or religious matters. Secular is the opposite of sacred.

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Discover More

Secularization refers to the declining influence of religion and religious values within a given culture. Secular humanism means, loosely, a belief in human self-sufficiency.

Other Word Forms

• nonsecular adjective
• presecular adjective
• secularly adverb
• supersecular adjective
• supersecularly adverb
• unsecular adjective
• unsecularly adverb

Etymology

Origin of secular

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Medieval Latin sēculāris, Late Latin saeculāris “worldly, temporal (opposed to eternal),” Latin: “of an age,” equivalent to Latin saecul(um) “long period, age” + -āris -ar ¹

Example Sentences

I was angry that I reached adulthood without a strong secular education.

From The Wall Street Journal

While Colombia is constitutionally secular, a vast majority identify as Catholic or Christian.

From Barron's

That’s a notable development, given that the stock has struggled to stay above this secular trendline over the past three years.

From Barron's

It's "really important to treasure the secular culture of this country, allowing every religion to flourish," he told an Indian newspaper in 2016. "... we must not endanger this by insisting on Hindu majoritarianism".

From BBC

The Greek medical tradition, starting with Hippocrates, tried to make sickness a secular matter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• civil
• materialistic
• worldly