congregational

adjective

con·​gre·​ga·​tion·​al ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: of or relating to a congregation

2

Congregational : of or relating to a group of Protestant churches that believe members should make their own decisions, rules, etc.

3

: of or relating to church government placing final authority in the assembly of the local congregation

congregationalism

ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-sh(ə-)nə-ˌli-zəm 

noun

often Congregationalism

congregationalist

ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-sh(ə-)nə-list 

noun or adjective

often Congregationalist

Examples of congregational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fridays — the weekly day of congregational prayer in Islam — draw larger crowds to mosques. —ABC News, 22 Feb. 2026

Muslims typically stream into mosques for congregational prayers and dedicate more time to religious contemplation and the reading of the Quran, the Islamic holy book. —Mariam Fam, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026

Hours later, for jummah congregational prayer, his campaign canvassed 210 of the city’s roughly 300 mosques, according to Hamaad Najam, a campaign spokesperson. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025

The trust would redirect funds to train conservative, biblically faithful ministers, support their salaries in struggling churches, and secure congregational autonomy from progressive denominational gatekeepers. —The Rev. Jake Dell, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1639, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for congregational

• aspirational
• avocational
• calculational
• combinational
• computational
• conformational
• confrontational
• conversational
• correlational
• deformational
• derivational
• educational

Kids Definition

congregational

adjective

con·​gre·​ga·​tion·​al ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-shnəl 

-shən-ᵊl

1

: of or relating to a congregation

2

: of or relating to church government placing final authority in the local congregation