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
Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans calling for the downfall of the ruling clerics and demanding the leadership step aside.
—
Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
While the underlying reasons for the protests are economic, video geolocated by NBC News that circulated online Sunday showed crowds chanting against the country’s ruling clerics.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 30 Dec. 2025
Shiite clerics, Baluch fishermen, and Tehrani teenagers have all spent hours listening to Googoosh.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
Leading up to it, mass anti-government demonstrations against the Shah drew different factions seeking change— including leftists, students, clerics, nationalists and minorities, among others.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
While the underlying reasons for the protests are economic, video geolocated by NBC News that circulated online Sunday showed crowds chanting against the country’s ruling clerics.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 30 Dec. 2025
Shiite clerics, Baluch fishermen, and Tehrani teenagers have all spent hours listening to Googoosh.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
Leading up to it, mass anti-government demonstrations against the Shah drew different factions seeking change— including leftists, students, clerics, nationalists and minorities, among others.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleric
Noun
-
There is a priest; there is the Word, a term used in Christianity to refer to Christ and to Holy Scripture; there is God, whom the priest calls love; there is a baby and a cross, bookending the life of Christ.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Estelle is forced into relentless negotiations to save the lives of inmates and prison personnel including the prison’s priest (Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus) and librarian (Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus).—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
One of the men, like Baldwin, had been a boy preacher.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
-
But some believe a traveling, apocalyptic preacher convinced her that killing Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary was the only way to save them from eternal damnation.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleric. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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