cleric

noun

cler·​ic ˈkler-ik 

ˈkle-rik

: a member of the clergy

Synonyms of cleric

• priest
• preacher

Examples of cleric in a Sentence

clerics were sharply divided on the issue of whether the war was morally justified

Recent Examples on the Web

In July, over 250 former lawmakers, clerics, professors and other public figures signed an anti-war petition warning of the costs of the conflict. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026

Voice of America’s Persian Service began airing in its current form in 1979, shortly after the Iranian Revolution toppled the Shah and installed the Islamist clerics who rule the country to this day. — Marc Fisher, New Yorker, 30 July 2026

Yet the mental horizons of Maucci and his associates were wider and more mobile than those of the big shots, small-time lawyers, and clerics who’d remained to vegetate in their old Lunigiana. — Literary Hub, 22 July 2026

Top officials appear as the crowd size swells Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led the prayers at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque for the late Khamenei and family members killed in the strike. — Nasser Karimi, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin clericus

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cleric

• derrick
• eric
• ferric
• steric
• xeric
• allosteric
• amphoteric
• anomeric
• atmospheric
• chromospheric
• climacteric
• congeneric

Kids Definition

cleric

noun

cler·​ic ˈkler-ik 

: a member of the clergy