as in temporal
not involving religion or religious matters
that's an issue for the secular authorities, not the church
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Recent Examples of secular
Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Dec. 2024
The ideal secular Christmas song would be happy, bouncy and full of celebration.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 11 Dec. 2024
Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
These data imply to me that the secular are getting idiocratic faster than the fundamentalists.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2012
See all Example Sentences for secular 
Adjective
How to coalesce secular Syrians, moderate Muslims, Kurds, and Christians into a government with Islamists, and whether free elections will be possible is the huge challenge Syria will face.
—Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Dec. 2024
The ideal secular Christmas song would be happy, bouncy and full of celebration.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
There was a change of heart among the secular nationalists during the second intifada—which started in 2000 and ended in 2005—in which seculars also joined forces.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
These data imply to me that the secular are getting idiocratic faster than the fundamentalists.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2012
See all Example Sentences for secular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secular
Adjective
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In fact, the natural tendency for systems to move from low-entropy states to high-entropy ones seems to be the only thing that reliably imbues the universe with a consistent temporal direction.Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
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To indicate aging, the number needs to be followed by the temporal unit (5 years or 12 months), otherwise the number is just the name of the product.Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In layman’s terms, there are fewer entry points for threat actors since Meet operates entirely in your browser (on the desktop).PCMAG, PCMAG, 12 Dec. 2024
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While a layman might initially believe finding the whereabouts of a high-ranking business figure would be difficult, a few quick Google searches could easily yield such information, according to D’Amico.Steve Kopack, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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What many of us nonreligious Americans do take issue with are religious displays that are sanctioned or funded by the government, or when one group is given preferential treatment over the rest of us.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
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Melina Cohen is the communications director for American Atheists, a national nonprofit working to protect civil rights, advance political equality, achieve social inclusion, and empower atheists and other nonreligious people through advocacy, education, and community building.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The forms are deceptively simple — a designer will spot the genius in them, but a layperson may not understand why pedestrian objects like a toaster, egg cup or sink may merit inclusion in a museum show.Rima Suqi, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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Dental personnel can use these tools to magnify on the computer screen the problem areas so they can be pointed out to a layperson.R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Secular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secular. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
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