as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
clerics were sharply divided on the issue of whether the war was morally justified
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Recent Examples of cleric
That exquisitely rare skill — the ability to arrange a handful of ordinary notes in a way that makes time stop and pulses quicken — unites long-anonymous troubadours, symphonists, Broadway entertainers, earnest singer-songwriters, griots, and ancient clerics.
—
Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Asheikh was the third cleric to hold the position since the country’s founding, serving three kings during an era of major cultural and political transformation in Saudi Arabia and the region.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The economy is the top challenge for Iran’s ruling clerics, who fear a revival of protests that have erupted since 2017 by lower and middle-income communities angry at growing poverty because of sanctions, mismanagement and state corruption.
—Parisa Hafezi, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Husseini attempted to ply him with patronage, appointing him imam of a new mosque, but the cleric’s burgeoning following augured poorly for Husseini’s grip on power.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Asheikh was the third cleric to hold the position since the country’s founding, serving three kings during an era of major cultural and political transformation in Saudi Arabia and the region.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The economy is the top challenge for Iran’s ruling clerics, who fear a revival of protests that have erupted since 2017 by lower and middle-income communities angry at growing poverty because of sanctions, mismanagement and state corruption.
—Parisa Hafezi, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Husseini attempted to ply him with patronage, appointing him imam of a new mosque, but the cleric’s burgeoning following augured poorly for Husseini’s grip on power.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleric
Noun
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Farmers exercised a right, a rare sight However, this display, engineered by farmers, suggests a departure from the control elite priests had over the right to worship and build centers for astronomical observation and ritual.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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O’Connor stars as Jud Duplencity, a priest sent to a remote outpost in Upstate New York, who becomes a kind of sidekick to Blanc in solving the mystery.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Miner preachers and independent churches were central to the organization of miners in eastern Kentucky in the 1930s, too, during another period of violence between mine operators and miners over conditions, wages and unionization.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
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Carolyn Smith, the late preacher’s daughter, said her father — like Pendleton a Knoxville College graduate — was instrumental in recruiting Pendleton and other Black educators to teach in San Diego.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cleric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleric. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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