sectarian
/sɛkˈtɛɹi.ən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.27 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, relating to, or partial to a sect.
adj
adj
noun
A bigot.
Example Sentences
- "We were discussing solutions to the sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias."
- "The Hariri-Aoun agreement has shown that Hezbollah can bring the national political system to a halt. This happened in the past several years, and it worsened conditions in sectors such as foreign debt, electricity output, rubbish collection, water delivery, and other essential services, to the discomfort of the majority of Lebanese who have spoken out intermittently against the oligarchy of sectarian leaders who rule the country."
- "An American sectarian, who has always lived within the high walls and in the close atmosphere of our intense sect-life here, and has always been accustomed to the dragonism of sect-authority and sect-jealousy, —is utterly amazed when for the first time he looks over his native sect-walls and comes to see the freedom of thought and utterance within the old churches of Europe."
Etymology
From Medieval Latin sectarius + -an. Its corresponding etymology per the first sense is sect + -arian.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /sɛkˈtɛɹi.ən/
- British English: /sɛkˈtɛəɹi.ən/