secular
Americanadjective
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of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal.
secular interests.
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not pertaining to or connected with religion (sacred ).
secular music.
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(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.
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(of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows (regular ).
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occurring or celebrated once in an age or century.
the secular games of Rome.
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going on from age to age; continuing through long ages.
noun
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a layperson.
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one of the secular clergy.
adjective
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of or relating to worldly as opposed to sacred things; temporal
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not concerned with or related to religion
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not within the control of the Church
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having no particular religious affinities
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not including compulsory religious studies or services
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(of clerics) not bound by religious vows to a monastic or other order
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occurring or appearing once in an age or century
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lasting for a long time
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astronomy occurring slowly over a long period of time
the secular perturbation of a planet's orbit
noun
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a member of the secular clergy
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another word for layman
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Copper began its secular bull market only as recently as this month!
From Barron's
The director, 44, grew up in a secular home in Norway, but her film about this radical American sect is strikingly earnest.
From Los Angeles Times
His Marat has the “seraphic countenance” and clear skin, Mr. Crow tells us, of a “secular martyr.”
The findings raise the possibility that renewed involvement in religious organizations or even secular community groups might help counter rising mortality rates.
From Science Daily
In a secular age, it takes real effort to imagine the terror of sin that motivated people like Perpetua, but it is crucial to understanding the resolve she showed in that arena.
Definitions 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.
