Religious

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɹɪˈlɪdÊ’É™s/
• Rhymes: -ɪdÊ’É™s

Origin

From Anglo-Norman relegius, religius et al., Old French religious, religieux, and their source, Latin religiōsus ("religious, superstitious, conscientious"), from religiō ("religion").

Full definition of religious

Adjective

1. Concerning religion.It is the job of this court to rule on legal matters. We do not consider religious issues.
2. Committed to the practice of religion.I was much more religious as a teenager than I am now.
3. Highly dedicated, as one would be to a religion.I'm a religious fan of college basketball.

Antonyms

• (concerning religion) irreligious, profane, secular
• (committed to religion) areligious, irreligious
• (highly dedicated) casual

Hyponyms

• Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i, Wiccan, Eckist, Druid, Jain, Raëlian, Sikh, Taoist, Zoroastrian, Unitarian Universalist, New Ager, reconstructionist, LaVeyan Satanist, Scientologist, Rastafarian, Taoist, pagan, spiritist, humanist, Thelemite, Confucianist

Related terms

Noun

1. A member of a religious order, i.e. a monk or nun.
• 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 354:Towards the end of the seventh century the monks of Fleury ... clandestinely excavated the body of Benedict himself, plus the corpse of his even more shadowy sister and fellow religious, Scholastica.