CHAPLAIN Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

chaplain

noun

Definition of chaplain

as in pastor

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of chaplain In 1972, William Christopher joined the cast of M*A*S*H as Father John Mulcahy, the Catholic priest who serves as the Army chaplain. — Rachel Flynn, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026 The school encouraged students and staff who need support to contact its counseling services or office of the chaplain. — Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 The actor was born Timothy James Curry in Grappenhall, England, to a Royal Navy chaplain and a school secretary on April 19, 1946. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026 His father, a Methodist Royal Navy chaplain, died when Tim was 12. — Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chaplain

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaplain

Noun

Sutton said she was encouraged by her late grandfather, a mechanic and pastor, and by her early interest in cars.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
We were interrupted, introduced to the young pastor who’d led the service.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of pastor

Noun

Asher has an omnipresent AI assistant who serves as a kind of fixer/scheduler/confessor.

— John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
The privilege protects someone who confesses to clergy by allowing the confessor to refuse to disclose confidential information to law enforcement and the courts — and by preventing clergy from disclosing it, too.

— Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of confessor

Noun

In 2018, Father Jan Kevin Schmidt, rector of the cathedral, requested that the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments grant the title of minor basilica to the historic church in Cincinnati.

— Jennie Key, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2026
Pernkopf was a Nazi functionary who became dean of the medical faculty in 1938 and rector of the university in 1943.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of rector

Noun

The couple were married by a female vicar, per the Daily Mail.

— Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
Nearly every murder is solved by the end of the episode, but despite the unusual twist of having the village vicar team up with the police, the real action comes from the relationships among the characters.

— Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026

Definition of vicar

Noun

This one stars Cox himself as a mysterious and formidable old man in an undertaker’s suit and parson’s hat who wanders into an Arizona border town in 1890 to gather the names of dead Mexican laborers.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
And what does the old man who sleeps by the fire know about the dead parson?

— Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026

Definition of parson

Noun

This tension unfolds with riveting restraint in a story set in 1960s Nagaland — the eastern Indian state on the Burmese border — following the principled chief of a waning tribe, and the arrival of an American missionary.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
The native people of this region were not wiped out by smallpox and instead established an independent kingdom that blends a traditional monarchy with Catholicism, thanks to the efforts of some earlier missionaries.

— John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of missionary

Noun

In 1976, the residence was redesigned as a retirement home for church missioners.

— George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
Kelley Hudlow, missioner for clergy formation for the diocese, told NBC affiliate WVTM of Birmingham soon after the shooting that church leaders were trying to learn more.

— Phil Helsel, NBC News, 17 June 2022

Definition of missioner

Browse Nearby Words

chaperoning

chaplain

chaplains

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Chaplain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaplain. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of chaplain

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on chaplain

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

tittle

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes