ayatollah

noun

aya·​tol·​lah ˌī-ə-ˈtō-lə How to pronounce ayatollah (audio) -ˈtä- How to pronounce ayatollah (audio)
-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

Recent Examples on the Web
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That ornery cleric was Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a grand ayatollah assassinated almost certainly by Saddam’s order in 1999. Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025 One ayatollah in particular, Ruhollah Khomeini, needled the Shah incessantly. Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025 Two ayatollahs said threats to Iran's supreme leader are insults to Islam. Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 30 June 2025 In 1979, a revolution established an Islamic Republic, grounded in strict Muslim religious ideology, led by a religious ayatollah. Sharyl Attkisson, Baltimore Sun, 27 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for ayatollah

Word History

Etymology

Persian āyatollāh, literally, sign of God, from Arabic āyatallāh, from āya sign, miracle + allāh God

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ayatollah was in 1950

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Cite this Entry

“Ayatollah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ayatollah. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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