sect
a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.
a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.
(in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.
any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.
Origin of sect
1Other words from sect
- subsect, noun
- un·der·sect, noun
Words that may be confused with sect
- sects , sex
Other definitions for -sect (2 of 3)
a combining form with the meaning “cut,” used in the formation of compound words bisect, dissect, exsect.
Origin of -sect
2Other definitions for sect. (3 of 3)
section.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sect in a sentence
It also resembles those of a 1st-century sect leader in Palestine who was also popular with the poor.
Is India’s Fallen ‘God-Man’ So Different From a Megachurch Pastor? | Jay Michaelson | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn a 2,813-acre tract roughly 30 miles west, Washington found a Calvinist sect called the Seceders squatting on his land.
He was an Ahmadi, a minority Muslim sect that Pakistan has declared un-Islamic and against which it discriminates horribly.
Why So Many Pakistanis Hate Their Nobel Peace Prize Winner | Chris Allbritton | October 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPerl loved all kinds of music, including rock and roll, growing up in the Chabad community, a sect of Hasidic Judaism.
The Sisterhood of Bulletproof Stockings: It’s Ladies’ Night for Hasidic Rockers | Emily Shire | September 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Yazidis, members of an ancient religious sect, fled when the Islamic State overran their homes.
Will U.S. Troops Stand By While ISIS Starves Thousands? | Jacob Siegel | August 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In this she differed from others of her sect, who strove to convey the idea of humility both outwardly and inwardly.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandHe was the chief of the seven sages of Greece, and founder of the Ionic sect of philosophers.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe reader may give three lines to both, if he pleases; see note to sect.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerCertainly the most cultivated and aristocratic sect--the Sadducees--repudiated it altogether; while the Pharisees held to it.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordAt the close of the last century there existed a religious sect who were in favour of abandoning the use of clothing.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian Sharman
British Dictionary definitions for sect (1 of 2)
/ (sɛkt) /
a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole) the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc
often derogatory
a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churches
a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical
a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc; faction
Origin of sect
1British Dictionary definitions for -sect (2 of 2)
to cut or divide, esp into a specified number of parts: trisect
Origin of -sect
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for sect
A religious group, especially one that has separated from a larger group. Sect is often a term of disapproval.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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