| Secular 1. (a.) Pertaining to the world; not pertaining directly to religion; as, secular philosophy; secular music. 2. (a.) Pertaining to an age, or the progress of ages, or to a long period of time; accomplished in a long progress of time; as, secular inequality; the secular refrigeration of the globe. 3. (a.) of or pertaining to this present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly. 4. (a.) Not regular; not bound by monastic vows or rules; not confined to a monastery, or subject to the rules of a religious community; as, a secular priest. 5. (a.) Belonging to the laity; lay; not clerical. 6. (n.) A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. 7. (n.) A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. 8. (n.) A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman. Thesaurus Entries Philistine, annual, biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly, bodily, brother, carnal, carnal-minded, catamenial, catechumen, centenary, centennial, centesimal, centigrado, centuple, centuplicate, centurial, church member, churchman, churchwoman, civil, communicant, congregational, corporal, corporeal, daily, decennial, diurnal, down-to-earth, earthly, earthy, fleshly, fortnightly, hardheaded, hebdomadal, hourly, hundredfold, hundredth, hylic, laic, laical, lay, lay brother, lay sister, layman, laywoman, material, materialistic, materiate, matter-of-fact, menstrual, momentary, momently, monthly, mundane, nonclerical, nonecclesiastical, nonministerial, nonordained, nonpastoral, nonreligious, nonsacred, nonspiritual, parishioner, physical, popular, positivistic, practical, practical-minded, pragmatic, profane, quarterly, quotidian, rational, realist, realistic, reasonable, reprobate, sane, scientific, scientistic, secularist, secularistic, semestral, semiannual, semimonthly, semiweekly, semiyearly, sensible, sister, sober-minded, somatic, sound, sound-thinking, state, straight-thinking, substantial, temporal, terrestrial, tertian, triennial, unblessed, unhallowed, unholy, unideal, unidealistic, unregenerate, unromantic, unsacred, unsanctified, unsentimental, unspiritual, weekly, worldly, yearly |