secular
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sehkyuhlerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɛkjəlɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world
Temporal; worldly, or otherwise not based on something timeless.
Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.
Christianity
Of or relating to clergy not bound by monastic vows
christianity
Not bound by the vows of a religious order.
Continuing over a long period of time.
noun
A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.
A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world
Used this way, secular is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- laic , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use secular
- “The university operates on a secular basis, welcoming students of all backgrounds.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The centennial rites and games of ancient Rome that marked the commencement of a new generation (100 years representing the longest life in a generation).
The doctrine emphasizing a person's capacity for self-realization through reason.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.