English Explanatory Dictionary

secular

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.
  2. Temporal; worldly, or otherwise not based on something timeless.
  3. Not bound by the vows of a religious order.
  4. Happening once in an age or century.
  5. Continuing over a long period of time.
  6. Centuries-old, ancient.
  7. Relating to long-term non-periodic irregularities, especially in planetary motion or magnetic field.
  8. Unperturbed over time.
noun
  1. A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules.
  2. A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir.
  3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɛkjʊlə/ /ˈsɛkjələɹ/ En-us-secular.ogg

Word forms

secular more secular most secular sæcular seculars

Etymology

From Middle English seculer, from Old French seculer, from Latin saeculāris (“of the age”), from saeculum.

Synonyms

areligious civil earthly irreligious laicist laicistic mundane nonreligious profane secular temporal unconsecrated unsanctified worldly chronological nonmonastic centurial centennial long-term nonsecular plurisecular multisecular

Antonyms

eternal everlasting frequent unpredictable non-recurring clerical ecclesiastical holy intemporal lay nonprofane nonsecular nontemporal religious sanctified spiritual unholy unprofane unsecular untemporal unworldly sacred monastic regular short-term cyclical

Related words

fin de siècle secle material mundane practical quotidian rational atheistic godless

Derived words

antisecular intersecular intrasecular multisecular palaeosecular paleosecular plurisecular postsecular presecular pro-secular pseudosecular secular arm secular clergy secular equilibrium secularisation secularism secularist secularity secularization secularize secularly secularness secular progressivism secular religion secular resonance Secular Zionism semisecular sickular supersecular unsecular
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