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religious definition

re·li·gious (ri lij′əs)

adjective

  1. characterized by adherence to religion or a religion; devout; pious; godly
  2. of, concerned with, appropriate to, or teaching religion religious books
  3. belonging to a community of monks, nuns, etc.
  4. conscientiously exact; careful; scrupulous

Etymology: OFr < L religiosus

noun pl. religious -·gious

a member of a community of monks, nuns, etc.

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

religious Synonyms

religious

modif.

  1. Pertaining to religion

    sacred, spiritual, holy, divine, theological, ethical, moral, ecclesiastical, clerical, canonical, supernatural, sacrosanct, churchly, liturgical, theistic, deistic, monotheistic, polytheistic, pantheistic, sacerdotal, priestly, pontifical, ministerial.

    Antonyms secular, worldly*, earthly. *

  2. Adhering to a religion

    devout, pious, godly, sanctimonious, pietistic, God-fearing, orthodox, puritanical, reverent, reverential, believing, faithful, spiritual-minded, observant, practicing, church-going, evangelistic, born-again, revivalistic, fanatic, unworldly; see also Christian, holy 2.

    Antonyms atheistic*, agnostic*, nonbelieving.

  3. Scrupulous

    methodical, minute, thorough; see careful.

religious stresses faith in a particular religion and constant adherence to its tenets to lead a religious life; devout implies sincere, worshipful devotion to one's faith or religion; pious suggests scrupulous adherence to the forms of one's religion but may, in derogatory usage, connote hypocrisy the pious burghers who defraud their tenants; sanctimonious in current usage implies a hypocritical pretense of piety or devoutness and often connotes smugness or haughtiness his sanctimonious disapproval of dancing


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

religious Usage Examples

Infinitive complement

  • enjoy: You don't have to be religious to enjoy the uplifting, passionate, exciting sounds of gospel music.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: She did not become religious, only working out the effects of the religious music.

Modifies a noun

  • belief: Whatever students ' religious beliefs, the Chaplain is always happy to talk to them.

Modifying Another Word

  • devoutly: The young Brits Bush seems to regard as the embodiment of evil are ordinary lads, neither especially political not devoutly religious.

Preposition: in

  • nature: Once again, Kurtz is not making a comment that is directly religious in nature.
religious usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

religious quotes

   If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

-Bible (NewTestament)

Man is by his constitution a religious animal; atheism is against not only our reason, but our instincts.

-Burke, Edmund

The three most important things a man has are, briefly, his private parts, his money, and his religious opinions.

-Butler, Samuel

religious quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"religious." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/religious>

APA Style

religious. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/religious

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