religious

Compared meaning: connected to religion or the sacred (adjective).

比较义项：与宗教、神明或精神相关的（形容词）。

• religious 本词

  General, neutral term for anything connected with a religion or its practice; used for people, institutions, rituals; does not itself imply special reverence, unlike sacred or divine.

  泛指与某种宗教或其活动有关的事物，可用于人、机构或仪式；语气中性，本身不带sacred或divine那种特别尊崇的意味。

  Her grandmother attends religious services every Sunday morning.

  她的祖母每个星期天早上都去参加宗教仪式。

• sacred

  Stresses that something is holy and deserves deep respect and careful treatment; used for places, objects, texts or promises; stronger and more specific than religious.

  强调某事物神圣，值得深深尊重并须谨慎对待；常用于地方、物品、文本或誓言，比religious更强烈、更具体。

  This temple is considered a sacred place by local villagers.

  当地村民认为这座寺庙是一个神圣的地方。

• spiritual

  Concerns the human spirit, mind or inner life rather than the body or material world; often used even outside organized religion, unlike religious, sacred and divine.

  关乎人的精神、心灵或内在生活，而非肉体或物质世界；即使脱离有组织的宗教也常被使用，这一点与religious、sacred和divine不同。

  Many people find spiritual comfort in quiet morning walks.

  许多人在安静的晨间散步中获得精神上的慰藉。

• divine

  Relates directly to God; in everyday speech it is also used loosely and enthusiastically to praise something's extraordinary beauty or quality, a hyperbolic use sacred lacks.

  直接与神有关；在日常口语中也常被随意而热情地用来形容某事物极其美丽或出色，这种夸张用法是sacred所没有的。

  Many people believe the sunset looks almost divine in its beauty.

  许多人认为这日落之美几乎美得神圣。

All four relate to religion. Religious is the general, neutral word. Sacred means holy, deserving deep respect. Spiritual concerns the human spirit, even outside religion. Divine relates to God, and is also used loosely to praise beauty. The verb 'divine' ('to guess') is not compared.

这四个词在“与宗教、神圣相关”这一义项上意思相近，但语气强弱和使用场合不同：religious最中性、最常用；sacred和divine更强调神圣、庄严，divine语气更夸张、更偏书面；spiritual涉及范围更广，可以脱离宗教而单指精神层面。这里不比较religious表示“十分认真、近乎虔诚地做某事”的引申用法，也不比较divine作动词时表示“凭直觉猜测、察知”的用法。

Compared meaning: deeply committed to religious faith (adjective).

比较义项：虔诚的、笃信宗教的（形容词）。

• religious 本词

  A general, neutral word meaning having religious beliefs or practising a faith; it does not necessarily imply deep devotion, so someone can be described as religious without attending services strictly or believing fervently.

  泛指有宗教信仰、信奉某种宗教的中性词；并不一定表示虔诚投入，因此一个人可以被称为『religious』，却不严格参加宗教活动或信仰并不狂热。

  He grew up in a religious household, though he never went to church much himself.

  他在一个信教的家庭里长大，尽管自己不怎么去教堂。

• devout

  Stronger and more emphatic than religious, stressing deep, sincere, wholehearted devotion to one's faith; it often collocates with a specific religion, as in devout Catholic or devout Muslim, which religious rarely does.

  语气比religious更强，强调对信仰全心、深切而真诚的投入；常与具体宗教搭配，如devout Catholic或devout Muslim，而religious很少这样使用。

  She is a devout Catholic who never misses Mass, even when travelling.

  她是一位虔诚的天主教徒，即使旅行在外也从不缺席弥撒。

Both can mean deeply committed to a faith. Religious is a general, neutral word for having religious beliefs or practicing a faith; it does not always mean deep devotion. Devout is stronger, stressing sincere devotion, and often pairs with a religion, as in 'devout Catholic'.

这两个词都可表示“虔诚的、笃信宗教的”，但语气强弱不同：religious较为中性、常泛指信教之人，devout则语气更强，强调发自内心的虔诚与投入。此处不比较religious表示“与宗教有关的”这一义项（如religious building 宗教建筑）。