priesthood

priest·hood | \ ˈprēst-ˌhu̇d

How to pronounce priesthood (audio)

, ˈprē-ˌstu̇d \

Definition of priesthood

1 : the office, dignity, or character of a priest

2 : the whole body of priests

3 : elite sense 1 the priesthood of the art world

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Examples of priesthood in a Sentence

an ancient civilization that was ruled by a priesthood What is the influence of the priesthood in today's society?

Recent Examples on the Web Randy Merrell walks to a priesthood meeting at his church. — Los Angeles Times, "He was seeking custom-made boots. The journey led to a life deeply touched by love and death and leather," 22 Oct. 2019 Technocrats like to say that entire sectors of public policy are very complicated and therefore no one can propose reforms or even understand the sector without entry into the priesthood of the technocracy. — Ganesh Sitaraman, The New Republic, "The Collapse of Neoliberalism," 23 Dec. 2019 Funke, released in 1995, was eventually bounced from the priesthood. — Claudia Lauer And Meghan Hoyer, chicagotribune.com, "Without oversight, scores of accused priests live under the radar and commit crimes," 5 Oct. 2019 Funke, released in 1995, was eventually bounced from the priesthood. — Anchorage Daily News, "Without oversight, scores of accused priests commit crimes," 5 Oct. 2019 Funke, released in 1995, was eventually bounced from the priesthood. — NBC News, "Almost 1,700 priests and clergy accused of sex abuse are unsupervised," 4 Oct. 2019 But here’s our idea: The origins of Melisandre are almost completely unknown (in George R.R. Martin‘s books, she’s described as a former child slave sold to the Red Temple an unknown number of years ago who then trained in the priesthood). — James Hibberd, EW.com, "The only Game of Thrones actor who could be in the prequel is open to the idea," 11 Dec. 2019 But these were slow and clunky machines, guarded by a priesthood of technical administrators and unavailable for personal use. — Jeremy Reimer, Ars Technica, "Half an operating system: The triumph and tragedy of OS/2," 29 Nov. 2019 After leaving or being forced from the priesthood, some men became social workers, religious leaders and counselors. — Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, "At least 11 priests accused of sexually abusing children in Colorado report are still alive. Where are they now?," 4 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'priesthood.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near priesthood

priesthood of all believers

Statistics for priesthood

Last Updated

17 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Priesthood.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/priesthood. Accessed 22 January 2020.

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