1
2
as in congregation
a body of persons gathered for religious worship
spoke to the whole church at once
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in clergy
the group ordained to perform clerical functions in the Christian church
a time when few young men seem to want to join the church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of church
The government agency Environment Canada said wind speeds were up to 50 km per hour (31 miles per hour) on Sunday afternoon during a party held by a church.
—
ABC News, 3 June 2026
This version comes from a church cookbook out of Mississippi.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Gender is often ambiguous—or beside the point—with getups ranging from church lady to dance-hall tart to BDSM munchkin.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The frame structures already standing would hold stained glass in the finished church for a congregation that formed in the 1890s.
—Arkansas Online, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for church
ABC News, 3 June 2026
This version comes from a church cookbook out of Mississippi.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Gender is often ambiguous—or beside the point—with getups ranging from church lady to dance-hall tart to BDSM munchkin.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The frame structures already standing would hold stained glass in the finished church for a congregation that formed in the 1890s.
—Arkansas Online, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for church
Recent Examples of Synonyms for church
Noun
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Participants also experience sites like the Grand Palace, Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, Mae Fa Luang Botanical Garden, and Wat Phra Kaew (the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand).—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
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Nancy Higginbotham/Facebook Higginbotham was on a family tracking app while his parents and brother visited a nearby temple.—
Anna Coren,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
During the service, the priest encouraged members of the congregation to share the sign of peace.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
Originally a Presbyterian church, the structure was expanded in the 1950s with an annex to accommodate a growing congregation.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
28 May 2026
Noun
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Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
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Others are subsidiaries of conglomerates, known as bonyads, that answer to the clergy.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Set the scene This red-brick Palladian pile is right at the foot of the looming Rock of Cashel, one of Ireland’s most famous historic sites, with its Romanesque chapel, roofless cathedral and pencil-shaped round tower.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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Culpo and McCaffrey married in June 2024 in a chapel in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, with the model wearing a Dolce & Gabbana gown, before celebrating at the historic Ocean House.—
Kirsty Hatcher,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Grassroots associations have made sure the posters of the disappeared are visible even at tourist sites, including outside a 17th century cathedral and on bollards at a central roundabout featuring a Roman goddess statue where Mexican soccer fans often celebrate.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
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Visitors can enjoy traditional dance and music (including choir concerts inside the cathedral), cathedral tours, cooking demos and tributes.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In the corner of one of Amsterdam's most elegant 17th-century canal houses, a cheetah leaps from an antique tabernacle.—
Karen Burshtein,
Time,
12 Mar. 2026
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Vandals broke into a Catholic school in Long Beach overnight Monday, stealing church items, damaging statues and tossing the tabernacle to the ground, according to police and school officials.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Church.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/church. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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