secularize

[sek-yuh-luh-rahyz]

verb (used with object), sec·u·lar·ized, sec·u·lar·iz·ing.

to make secular; separate from religious or spiritual connection or influences; make worldly or unspiritual; imbue with secularism.

to change (clergy) from regular to secular.

to transfer (property) from ecclesiastical to civil possession or use.

Also especially British, sec·u·lar·ise.

Origin of secularize

First recorded in 1605–15; secular + -ize

Related formssec·u·lar·i·za·tion, nounsec·u·lar·iz·er, nouno·ver·sec·u·lar·i·za·tion, nouno·ver·sec·u·lar·ize, verb (used with object), o·ver·sec·u·lar·ized, o·ver·sec·u·lar·iz·ing.un·sec·u·lar·ized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for secularization

Historical Examples of secularization

At the time of secularization it was one of the smaller missions, valued at only $56,000.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846
Various
Between deism and secularization the connection was reasonable.
Loyola and the Educational System of the Jesuits
Thomas Hughes
Little of moment occurred at Dolores till the days of secularization.
Historic Towns of the Western States
Various
The process which has since been named "secularization" had then fairly set in.
Caricature and Other Comic Art
James Parton.
But secularization was in harmony with the growth of republican ideas.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1
Various

British Dictionary definitions for secularization

secularize

secularise

verb (tr)

to change from religious or sacred to secular functions, etc

to dispense from allegiance to a religious order

law to transfer (property) from ecclesiastical to civil possession or use

English legal history to transfer (an offender) from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to that of the civil courts for the imposition of a more severe punishment

Derived Formssecularization or secularisation, nounsecularizer or seculariser, noun

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

Word Origin and History for secularization

1706, "conversion to secular purposes," in reference to Church property; see secularize + -ation. General use by 1863.

secularize

1610s, of property, offices, etc., from secular + -ize. From 1711 as "to become worldly;" from 1846 of education, social institutions, etc. Related: Secularized; secularizing.