secular
of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests.
not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred): secular music.
(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.
(of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows (opposed to regular).
occurring or celebrated once in an age or century: the secular games of Rome.
going on from age to age; continuing through long ages.
a layperson.
one of the secular clergy.
Origin of secular
1Other words from secular
- sec·u·lar·ly, adverb
- non·sec·u·lar, adjective
- pre·sec·u·lar, adjective
- su·per·sec·u·lar, adjective
- su·per·sec·u·lar·ly, adverb
- un·sec·u·lar, adjective
- un·sec·u·lar·ly, adverb
Words Nearby secular
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use secular in a sentence
It sits atop secular trends towards e-commerce over traditional retail, mobile commerce over static, and what I would call a cultural rethinking of used goods in recent years.
At this time of year, holiday-themed bars are secular temples.
Savor the spirits of the season at these outdoor holiday-themed bars | Fritz Hahn | December 11, 2020 | Washington PostThe country has been proud of its technology sector, which has been a bright spot in an economy that has been battered by long-term secular decline in industries ranging from mining and steel to oil and gas to retail.
Why Nvidia’s purchase of Arm worries the U.K. tech sector | Jeremy Kahn | September 14, 2020 | FortuneOfficials stress that they also have strong ties with the secular Palestinian party Fatah, which runs the West Bank.
The Islamist militant group emerged in 1987 as a rival to the secular, left-leaning Palestine Liberation Organization, drawing inspiration from the Muslim Brotherhood of neighboring Egypt.
For the last nine years, they have battled secular Baluch nationalists who would like to see an independent Baluchistan.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan | Umar Farooq | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe advocates a secular regime with a total separation of religion form the government.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 | Movements.Org | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo here, for your Christmas Eve pleasure, are 20 of my favorites, 10 from the ecclesiastical division and 10 secular.
From the religious (‘The Holly and the Ivy’) to the secular (‘The Chipmunk Song’), my top 20.
A secular police state well practiced in suppressing internal challenges.
Besides these, twenty thousand Indians are under the care of secular priests—making a total of two hundred and five thousand.
Condition of the archbishopric of Manila in regard to the affairs of ecclesiastical and secular government.
In the port of Cavite, three leguas from Manila, there is a parochial church in charge of a beneficed secular priest.
Whenever the contrary is heard from anyone, he is corrected, admonished, and punished—by myself if he is a secular.
In it they established two religious for each subject, and they have twenty secular collegiates.
British Dictionary definitions for secular
/ (ˈsɛkjʊlə) /
of or relating to worldly as opposed to sacred things; temporal
not concerned with or related to religion
not within the control of the Church
(of an education, etc)
having no particular religious affinities
not including compulsory religious studies or services
(of clerics) not bound by religious vows to a monastic or other order
occurring or appearing once in an age or century
lasting for a long time
astronomy occurring slowly over a long period of time: the secular perturbation of a planet's orbit
a member of the secular clergy
another word for layman
Origin of secular
1Derived forms of secular
- secularly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for secular
[ (sek-yuh-luhr) ]
Not concerned with religion or religious matters. Secular is the opposite of sacred.
Notes for secular
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse