1
a
: a dissenting or schismatic religious body
especially
: one regarded as extreme or heretical
b
: a religious denomination
2
archaic
: sex sense 1
So is all her sect …—
William Shakespeare
William ShakespeareExamples of sect in a Sentence
Noun
one sect of medical researchers holds the minority view that the disease is not caused by that virus
Recent Examples on the Web
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026
The family, which belonged to Syria’s minority Alawite sect, had fled to Lebanon from the central province of Hama after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024.
—Ahmad Mantash, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
In Tyre, long held up by locals as a model of coexistence among Lebanon’s various sects, Israeli occupation and bombardment were not weakening Hezbollah’s case for its weapons.
—Euan Ward, New Yorker, 29 May 2026
The Shiʿi sect of Islam believes that Prophet Muhammad’s cousin, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, was the prophet’s rightful successor as the leader of the Islamic world; the Sunnis believe that a leader should have been chosen from among the masses, leading to tensions between these two major Islamic sects.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
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Noun
But what Richards thought was a collective with a deep love of mysticism, spirituality, and personal growth quickly spiraled into a controlling sect called Eternal Values, with Mierers in a position of complete power.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026
The family, which belonged to Syria’s minority Alawite sect, had fled to Lebanon from the central province of Hama after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024.
—Ahmad Mantash, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
In Tyre, long held up by locals as a model of coexistence among Lebanon’s various sects, Israeli occupation and bombardment were not weakening Hezbollah’s case for its weapons.
—Euan Ward, New Yorker, 29 May 2026
The Shiʿi sect of Islam believes that Prophet Muhammad’s cousin, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, was the prophet’s rightful successor as the leader of the Islamic world; the Sunnis believe that a leader should have been chosen from among the masses, leading to tensions between these two major Islamic sects.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sect
Cite this Entry
“Sect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sect. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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