sectary

American  

[sek-tuh-ree] / ˈsɛk tə ri /

noun

plural

sectaries

1. a member of a particular sect, especially an adherent of a religious body regarded as heretical or schismatic.

2. a Protestant of nonconformist denomination, especially a minor one.

3. a person zealously devoted to a particular sect.

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sectary British  

/ ˈsɛktərɪ /

noun

1. a member of a sect, esp a person who belongs to a religious sect that is regarded as heretical or schismatic

2. a person excessively devoted to a particular sect

3. a member of a Nonconformist denomination, esp one that is small

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Etymology

Origin of sectary

1550–60; < Medieval Latin sectārius, equivalent to sect ( a ) sect + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

The latter was commissioned by the home sectary and Sir Ken.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025

An ex-senior adviser recalled being sent a document about a reform agenda and a permanent sectary ordering them to "just bin it immediately".

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2023

At first he was regarded by his "pastors and masters" as a mere wilful, noisy, praying sectary.

From Mystic London: or, Phases of occult life in the metropolis by Davies, Charles Maurice

When he dons the garb of the sectary, he naturally becomes weakened, and loses his chief charm.

From John Greenleaf Whittier His Life, Genius, and Writings by Kennedy, W. Sloane

Do we find that He assumed the tone of an enthusiast or ambitious sectary?

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I by Lodge, Henry Cabot