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
These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones, and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah.
—
Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was selected to become Iran's supreme leader last weekend by the country's council of religious clerics after serving as a close aide to his father for years.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
But the Iranian system of clerics and militants defied the president, selecting in Khamenei’s son a man viewed as even more hostile to the West than his father was.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Wednesday reportedly broke his silence in his first message since being appointed last week by a council of clerics, according to state television.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was selected to become Iran's supreme leader last weekend by the country's council of religious clerics after serving as a close aide to his father for years.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
But the Iranian system of clerics and militants defied the president, selecting in Khamenei’s son a man viewed as even more hostile to the West than his father was.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Wednesday reportedly broke his silence in his first message since being appointed last week by a council of clerics, according to state television.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleric
Noun
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He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grand Island in 1994 and served as vicar general and pastor of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary before his 2021 appointment to Colorado Springs, according to the archdiocese.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
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Chief among his many complaints was the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, which had become not only widespread but even mandatory for many priests, in order to generate funds to pay for the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
His father, much older than his mom, was a preacher who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleric. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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