semireligious

[ sem-ee-ri-lij-uhs, sem-ahy- ]

adjective

1. having a somewhat religious character.

Word History and Origins

Origin of semireligious¹

First recorded in 1860–65; semi- + religious

Example Sentences

Even at the Tokyo Games last summer, visitors in somewhat looser pandemic protocols enjoyed the semireligious privilege of entering the city’s ubiquitous, and surprisingly tasty, convenience stores.

From New York Times

But in 1966 the F.B.I. focus was on the Nation of Islam, which a hodgepodge of agency documents refer to as an “all-Negro, semireligious, antiwhite” organization.

From New York Times

“There’s something semireligious to the way he offers a part of his body to repair a part of her body,” Ms. Murphy said at a preview of the exhibition.

From New York Times

The network’s semi-live, semireligious musical pageant “The Passion” on Sunday night recalled a lot of modern television spectacles meant to circumvent the DVR — Super Bowl halftimes, “American Idol,” New Year’s Eve broadcasts.

From New York Times

Yo La Tengo, one of the granddaddies of indie pop, has been playing an eight-night Hanukkah series at Maxwell’s in the group’s hometown, Hoboken, N.J., almost every year since 2001, and it has become a semireligious ritual in itself.

From New York Times