Sect
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /sɛkt/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Sect is a noun meaning An offshoot of a larger religion or denomination.
Meaning
An offshoot of a larger religion or denomination.
More Meanings
- A group following a specific ideal or a leader.
- (astrology, historical) An ancient astrological concept, a form of polarity by which heavenly bodies were designated as either diurnal or nocturnal.
- (obsolete) A cutting; a scion.
Example Sentences
a religious sect
Peoples Temple and the Branch Davidians both approximated the 'apocalyptic sect' as an ideal type. In such sects the end of the world is taken as a central tenet.
Branch Davidians are a modern religious sect that claims to be an offshoot of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The church renounced any connection with the sect in the 1930s.
Zen Center welcomes visitors, guests, and prospective students, but it does not engage in systematic institutional or network recruiting of new members, unlike the Christian sect and Erhard Seminars Training.
Word Forms
- sects
Synonyms for sect
Depending on context, synonyms include faction.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include faction, sectarian, cult, doctrine, community, clan.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.