as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
there are people on both the left and the right who have staked out unyielding sectarian positions in this debate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in partisan
one who stubbornly or intolerantly adheres to his or her own opinions and prejudices
charged that the work of Congress has been stymied by sectarians who are indifferent to reason and intolerant of compromise
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of sectarian
Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
Now the scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to prevent ethnic, political, and sectarian rivalries from triggering a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
Robert Barnes, Anchorage Daily News, 20 June 2019
Lebanon’s unique sectarian make up and place in the region make its politics about local issues like jobs, infrastructure, and garbage collection as well as about regional rivalries and alliances.
—Ben Hubbard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
See all Example Sentences for sectarian 
Adjective
Assad’s fall has also highlighted ideological and sectarian divisions among Iran’s allies that may further fracture the axis’s cohesion.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
Now the scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to prevent ethnic, political, and sectarian rivalries from triggering a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
Noun
Quite the contrary, the image of the cross makes the war memorial sectarian.
—Robert Barnes, Anchorage Daily News, 20 June 2019
Lebanon’s unique sectarian make up and place in the region make its politics about local issues like jobs, infrastructure, and garbage collection as well as about regional rivalries and alliances.
—Ben Hubbard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
See all Example Sentences for sectarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sectarian
Adjective
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Columbus Today Columbus is no longer the parochial, third-tier Midwestern city big dreamers must leave in order to fulfil their potential.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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But parochial political feuds and byzantine zoning codes have hampered LA’s efforts to get more new housing off the ground.—
Carly Stern,
Vox,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Like today, partisans were divided over what colleges should teach.—
Johann Neem / Made by History,
TIME,
2 Jan. 2025
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This is particularly true in recent years, when partisans' views of crime have tended to change based on the party of the president.—
George Monastiriakos,
Newsweek,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But the smoke is still rising, and petty partisanship is a distraction and disservice at the moment, given all that’s been lost, and all the hard work of moving forward.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
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In an era of steadily declining trust in media, the dry formalities of a legal template provide not only an imprimatur of institutional credibility, but also the freedom to go into extreme amounts of detail without seeming petty, tedious or self-indulgent.—
Eleanor Hawkins,
Axios,
9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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As of publishing, the Palisades and Eaton fires have burned for six days—with a handful of smaller fires, like the Kenneth Fire and Hurst Fire breaking out as well.—
Kristin Jenny,
Outside Online,
13 Jan. 2025
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Reata at the Rodeo, a smaller but no less impressive version of the Southwestern steakhouse in downtown Fort Worth, will open at 11 a.m. Jan. 17 and will serve all day most days.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Republicans are weighing their big ambitions, limited time and narrow House and Senate majorities.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
13 Jan. 2025
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The narrow edge is expected to get even slimmer when two Republican members of congress join Trump’s cabinet.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
13 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near sectarian
Cite this Entry
“Sectarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sectarian. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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