irreligious

adjective

ir·​re·​li·​gious ˌir-i-ˈli-jəs How to pronounce irreligious (audio)
1
: neglectful of religion : lacking religious emotions, doctrines, or practices
so irreligious that they exploit popular religion for professional purposesG. B. Shaw
2
: indicating lack of religion
irreligiously adverb

Examples of irreligious in a Sentence

raised in an irreligious family where the subject of God was never even discussed
Recent Examples on the Web Ephraim — ambitious, socialist and irreligious — takes his family to Riga, Latvia, to Palestine and finally to France. Lauren Elkin, Washington Post, 16 May 2023 There may even be some juice left in secularization in Northern Europe as the older generations which fill the pews die off to be replaced by the cresting wave of irreligious born since 1960. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 21 Oct. 2010 The regional and Wordsum difference remains even among those who are fundamentalists or irreligious. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 2 May 2010 Please note that ~20% of the population rejects an afterlife, a higher proportion than those who are irreligious, or atheists or agnostics. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2010 Similarly, Catholics have been the biggest contributors in the past decade to the irreligious segment of Americans. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2010 Conservative religiosity is of course not a requirement for autocracy – just look at the previous era of Russian autocracy, which was decidedly irreligious. Jill Filipovic, CNN, 21 Feb. 2023 This is the hard part for many intellectuals, religious or irreligious, to understand. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2013 Gift-giving and receiving divorced from the commemoration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ are lamented by conservatives as evidence of an increasing irreligious population. Miles Smith Iv, National Review, 24 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irreligious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of irreligious was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near irreligious

Cite this Entry

“Irreligious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irreligious. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

irreligious

adjective
ir·​re·​li·​gious ˌir-i-ˈlij-əs How to pronounce irreligious (audio)
: lacking religious emotions, principles, or practices
irreligiously adverb

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