sectarian Hear it!

sectarian Definition

sec·tar·ian (sek terē ən)

adjective

  1. of or characteristic of a sect
  2. devoted to, or prejudiced in favor of, some sect
  3. narrow-minded; limited; parochial

Etymology: < sectary + -an

noun

  1. Obsolete an apostate from an established church
  2. a member of any religious sect
  3. a person who is blindly and narrow-mindedly devoted to a sect

sectarian Related Forms

sec·tari·an·ism′ noun sec·tari·an·ize′ (-īz′) transitive verb, intransitive verb -·ized′, -·iz′·ing

sectarian Synonyms

sectarian

modif.

sectarian Synonyms

sectarian

n.

sectarian Usage Examples

Converse of object

leave: How would you characterize the 68 who weren't Brit left sectarians?

Adjective modifier

  • hopeless: From then on it is clear that he regarded them as hopeless sectarians.
  • religious: From all sides opportunists, religious sectarians and racists have jumped in to exploit the situation.

Modifies a noun

  • strife: Heavy security was meant to lower the ever-present danger of sectarian strife at a festival with a bloody history.
  • hatred: This pathetic attempt at stirring up sectarian hatred is the purest evidence yet of your desperation - Anyway, I thought you'd won?
  • killing: We have busted several gangs involved in sectarian killings.
  • violence: On ther same day some 40 people died through sectarian violence, now sweeping Iraq on a daily basis.
  • bigot: The FRU maintained the sectarian bigot Brian Nelson on its payroll, knowing full well his hatred of Catholics.
  • rioting: Then the long hard summer of sectarian rioting began.

Modifying Another Word

  • increasingly: The unions became increasingly sectarian, increasingly materialist, until they deserved as well as received their defeat at the hands of Margaret Thatcher.
  • not: In the debate, comrade Mc Shane said Red Platform comrades were not sectarian.
  • nakedly: Interface communities are stigmatized as having bad attitude and being nakedly sectarian.
  • very: Lewes, like most of East Sussex has a very sectarian past.
  • deeply: Some believe Lebanon's fragile, deeply sectarian society may not even be ready for it.
  • sometimes: SSP members may get annoyed by the sometimes sectarian methods of the CWI and SW platforms.

Used with adjective complement

become: In sociological terms, the religion became more sectarian.

Preposition: in

  • nature: People have sectarian stereotypes because they grew up and live in a society which is sectarian in nature.
  • way: Their murals were thus anathema to old-style mural painters who saw the new murals as sectarian in a way their own never were.