# religious

Pronunciation: say "ri-LIJ-uhs" /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

## Adjective

1. Concerning religion or relating to its beliefs, practices, or institutions.
   - Simple: Having to do with religion or with how people worship.
   - _The court ruled that the law violated religious freedom protections._
   - _Scholars have cataloged the region's religious art from the medieval period._
2. Personally committed to the practice of a religion and adherence to its teachings.
   - Simple: Following a religion seriously, by praying, worshiping, and keeping its rules.
   - _She grew up in a deeply religious household where daily prayer was the norm._
   - _Though he rarely discusses it, he remains quietly religious._
3. Extremely dedicated or scrupulously consistent in some practice, as one might be in observing a religion.
   - Simple: Very careful and serious about doing something, the way a person follows a religion.
   - _She is religious about backing up her files every night._
   - _He attends every city council meeting with religious regularity._
4. Belonging or relating to an order or congregation of consecrated life, such as a community of monks, nuns, or friars.
   - Simple: Belonging or relating to a community of monks, nuns, or others who make special promises to live for their faith.
   - _After her novitiate, she made her solemn religious profession before the community._
   - _The diocese oversees several religious houses, including two monasteries and a convent._

## Noun

5. A member of a religious order or congregation, such as a monk, nun, friar, sister, or brother.
   - Simple: A person, like a monk or a nun, who lives a life of faith under special promises.
   - _Sister Agnes has lived as a religious for more than forty years._
   - _The retreat house is staffed by three religious and several lay volunteers._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English "religiouse," borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French forms such as "religieus" and "religieux," which came from Latin "religiōsus" (meaning religious, superstitious, or conscientious), from "religiō." It is a doublet of "religieux."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/religious (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).