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
The seventh prisoner, Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh, a Kurd, was convicted over the 2009 assassination of Mamousta Sheikh al-Islam, a pro-government Sunni cleric in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj.
—
Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Iran will never bow to foreign pressure over its nuclear program, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami said Friday, warning that the country’s uranium enrichment is a nonnegotiable symbol of national sovereignty.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Iran will never bow to foreign pressure over its nuclear program, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami said Friday, warning that the country’s uranium enrichment is a nonnegotiable symbol of national sovereignty.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleric
Noun
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His remarks come after reports that priests and pastoral workers have been unable to bring communion to those detained.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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But Wolfgang Rothe — a priest and scholar of canon law — says this charge is often pitted at critics within the church.—
Esme Nicholson,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This came after director Ryan Coogler had asked her to work on his supernatural thriller, where Caton plays the son of a preacher.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
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Born in 1972, Heard, who identified as pansexual and polyamorous, served as a preacher prior to his career in adult content.—
Mikelle Street,
Them.,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cleric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleric. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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