ayatollah
noun
aya·tol·lah
ˌī-ə-ˈtō-lə 
-ˈtä-
-ˈtä-
-ˈtə-,
ˈī-ə-ˌtō-,
-ˌtä-,
-ˌtə-
: a religious leader among Shiite Muslims
—used as a title of respect especially for one who is not an imam
Examples of ayatollah in a Sentence
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The correct course is clear: Help Israel do what needs to be done with the ayatollahs and sufficiently arm Ukraine to thwart Putin’s imperial designs, and the world will be a safer, better place.
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—
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
More than a decade ago, a Reuters investigation concluded that Iran's ayatollah also controlled a massive financial empire built on property seizures in the chaotic years after the 1979 revolution, when many Iranians fled overseas.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 19 June 2025
Promising an apocalypse by the ayatollahs who were getting ever closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon to carry out that diabolical wish, Israel had every right to hit Iran to disable its uranium enrichment facilities and its ballistic missile infrastructure.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 June 2025
Such explanations may have answered an immediate need to understand on simple terms—and to undermine—the revolutionary government and the aging ayatollah at its helm.
—Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2019
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Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
More than a decade ago, a Reuters investigation concluded that Iran's ayatollah also controlled a massive financial empire built on property seizures in the chaotic years after the 1979 revolution, when many Iranians fled overseas.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 19 June 2025
Promising an apocalypse by the ayatollahs who were getting ever closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon to carry out that diabolical wish, Israel had every right to hit Iran to disable its uranium enrichment facilities and its ballistic missile infrastructure.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 June 2025
Such explanations may have answered an immediate need to understand on simple terms—and to undermine—the revolutionary government and the aging ayatollah at its helm.
—Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2019
See All Example Sentences for ayatollah
Cite this Entry
“Ayatollah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ayatollah. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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