adjective
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of, belonging or relating to, or characteristic of sects or sectaries
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adhering to a particular sect, faction, or doctrine
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narrow-minded, esp as a result of rigid adherence to a particular sect
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sectarian
Explanation
Sectarian is a word to describe something having to do with smaller groups or sects. Sectarian violence, for example, would describe violence that has erupted between conflicting groups or sects. Sectarian, as a noun, is a member of a group with a particular set of interests. If you're a religious sectarian, you are loyal to a particular religious sect or group. Unfortunately, there are not many places in the world where sectarian strife and conflict do not exist.
Vocabulary lists containing sectarian
Power Suffix: -arian
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"Ideas Live On" by Benazir Bhutto (2007)
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President Obama's U.N. Address
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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.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels and al-Shabaab—al Qaeda’s wealthiest affiliate—were long divided by sectarian lines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Fr Aidan said the sectarian dispute was "hatred at its worst".
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“In the end that sacred project actually tends to produce sectarian narrowness, exclusion, uniformity, silencing, self-censorship, lack of debate, the negative sanctioning of nonconformists, and the debilitation of rigorous thought.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Her death provoked widespread public grief and anger over the continued activity of paramilitary groups, which plagued the province during three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
I ask my fellow-workers at the factory; they know nothing and think I am talking of some crazy Yomesh sectarian.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
