biblical

adjective

Definition of biblicalnext
as in scriptural
relating to, taken from, or found in the Bible a biblical passage The city was a center for trade in biblical times.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of biblical Driving many of the biblical parallels are two sets of siblings — half-brothers, Charles and Adam Trask, and later, Adam’s fraternal twin sons Cal and Aron — each competing for their father’s attention and love. — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 In East of Eden, Pugh delivers yet another knock out performance as Cathy Ames, the distant mother and madam at the center of Steinbeck’s multigenerational family saga and biblical allegory. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026 Behind him, against the restaurant’s white fence, is a vaguely biblical lime tree. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026 And the religious character of this language is by no means unsuitable to this project of science that was bathed in biblical metaphors from the get-go—Code name Trinity, to cite just one example. — Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for biblical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biblical
  1. scriptural
  2. holy
  3. liturgical
  4. religious
  5. sacred
  6. ceremonial
Adjective
  • With so many in the world being uprooted and seeking security, the scriptural account of Ruth affords an example of how a more universal Love meets human needs.
    — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2026
  • The gathering will feature live music, public prayer and scriptural readings and is framed by the ideology of White Christian nationalism, the false belief that America was founded as a Christian nation.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 16 May 2026
Definition of scriptural
Adjective
  • Under what was known as the Status Quo, a set of unwritten understandings between Israel and Jordan, the custodian of Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites, Jews could visit the shrine, but only Muslims could worship there.
    — Ilan Ben Zion, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Earlier on Saturday, the Houthies threatened new attacks on the kingdom's airports, except for the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, warning passengers not to travel.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of holy
Adjective
  • Along with the album, U2 released two surprise EPs this year, Days of Ash and Easter Lily, that turn out to be conceptually linked to the new album via the liturgical calendar, with carnival preceding Lent and Easter.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2026
  • For seventeen years, graduation season had carried a liturgical cadence for him.
    — Benjamin Wofford, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of liturgical
Adjective
  • Its accompanying music video, directed by longtime U2 collaborator Anton Corbijn, was filmed in the California desert and satirizes the band as a religious cult in which women do the heavy lifting.
    — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week Hasan’s execution would be livestreamed, eliciting pushback from Democrats, Republicans and religious advocates about the idea.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of religious
Adjective
  • Karen Huger is sober, Wendy Osefo is fighting to reclaim her reputation, Tia’s husband is cheating on her, and Ashley Darby remains committed to the sacred constitutional right to be in everybody’s business but her own.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • My downtime is sacred territory, and the right tech turns it into a downright art form.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of sacred
Adjective
  • Strandhill on the Sligo coast was our Palookaville, and our business today was ceremonial—the cremains of Chuck (Boyo) Murphy were in Tall Paul’s carrier, the little plywood box triple-bagged and Gorilla-taped for safety.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • For Ellison, Kreiz and the senior team at Skydance the ceremonial part of the job is over.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ceremonial

Browse Nearby Words

bibles
biblical
bibliographies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Biblical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/biblical. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All