secular

[sek-yuh-ler]

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.

noun

1. a layperson.

2. one of the secular clergy.

secular

/ 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

noun

1. a member of the secular clergy

2. another word for layman

secular

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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of secular¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of secular¹

C13: from Old French seculer, from Late Latin saeculāris temporal, from Latin: concerning an age, from saeculum an age

Example Sentences

In an even less rosy outcome, the U.S. could see secular stagnation: A return to the norm between the financial crisis and pandemic, with weak investment and a savings glut.

Read more on Barron's

But all the while, starting as a teen, Johnson logged time on the secular comedy scene of open mics, stand-up sets and improv sessions around Nashville.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Around the same time, Israel empowered Palestinian Islamist groups including Hamas, hoping they would serve as a counterweight to the PLO and leftist, secular Palestinian factions that were prominent at the time.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

CCM, while lucrative for musicians, is mostly the domain of artists who don’t have enough juice to cross over into the more desirable secular market.

Read more on Salon

Assassinations and violent deaths, in particular, tend to be interpreted in sacred terms: The person becomes a secular martyr who made a heroic sacrifice.

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Related Words

• civil 
• materialistic 
• worldly