secular

/ˈsɛkjʊlə/

//ˈsɛkjʊlə// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"secular" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“secular” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,739 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#7,739
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

secular vs scalar
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for secular
PropertyValue
Headwordsecular
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsɛkjʊlə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#7,739
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “secular” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). secular lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for secular is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛkjʊlə/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,739 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for secular, with forms such as "escular", "sceular", and "seccular". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "scalar", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English seculer, from Old French seculer, from Latin saeculāris (“of the age”), from saeculum. The correct English form is secular, spelled S-E-C-U-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.
  2. 2
    Temporal; worldly, or otherwise not based on something timeless.
  3. 3
    Not bound by the vows of a religious order.
  4. 4
    Happening once in an age or century.
  5. 5
    Continuing over a long period of time.
  6. 6
    Centuries-old, ancient.
  7. 7
    Relating to long-term non-periodic irregularities, especially in planetary motion or magnetic field.
  8. 8
    Unperturbed over time.

Etymology

From Middle English seculer, from Old French seculer, from Latin saeculāris (“of the age”), from saeculum.

Synonyms

areligiouscivilirreligiouslaicistlaicisticmundanenonreligiousprofaneseculartemporalunconsecratedunsanctifiedworldly

Antonyms

eternaleverlastingfrequentunpredictablenon-recurringclericalecclesiasticalholyintemporallaynonprofanenonsecularnontemporalreligioussanctifiedspiritualunholyunprofaneunsecularuntemporalunworldly

This word in other languages

seglar(Español)séculier(Français)säkular(Deutsch)secular(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: escular,sceular,seccular,secluar,secualr,secularr,secullar,seculra,seuclar,ssecular

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of secular - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

escular2sceular2seccular1secluar2secualr2secularr1secullar1seculra2
Edit distance from "secular"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "secular"?
"secular" is spelled S-E-C-U-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛkjʊlə/.
What does "secular" mean?
As an adjective, "secular" means: Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.
What words are commonly confused with "secular"?
"secular" is commonly confused with "scalar". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "secular"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "secular" is /ˈsɛkjʊlə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "secular"?
From Middle English seculer, from Old French seculer, from Latin saeculāris (“of the age”), from saeculum. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “secular”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-E-C-U-L-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsɛkjʊlə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “scalar” - see the side-by-side comparison. secular vs scalar
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list