churchman

noun

Definition of churchmannext
as in clergyman

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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 churchman Meanwhile, churchmen claimed the authority to restrain violence, encouraged just wars and threatened violent behaviors with spiritual sanctions. — Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026 Not all birth rituals depended on the intercession of a saint or the authority of a churchman. — Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026 The good news about the release of Álvarez and the other 18 Catholic churchmen is tempered by the imposition of their exile and by the knowledge that other advocates for freedom in Nicaragua remain behind bars. — David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024 They were abetted by the Latin churchmen who forged the Donation of Constantine as the pope’s license to appoint a king of the Romans. — Dominic Green, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2023 See All Example Sentences for churchman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churchman
  1. clergyman
  2. priest
  3. preacher
  4. deacon
  5. cleric
  6. reverend
  7. ecclesiastic
  8. padre
Noun
  • Such details include McCartney’s bare feet and opposite stride and the other members’ attire (Lennon’s white supposedly represents a clergyman, Starr’s black a mourner, and Harrison’s denim a gravedigger).
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 July 2026
  • Robin, our hero, is the son of a country clergyman.
    — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Definition of clergyman
Noun
  • In Natasha Pulley’s kaleidoscopic novel, a Vatican priest returns to the mining town of his youth to confront the cult following behind the eponymous Salt King.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Jon asks, suggesting a name and/or laying the groundwork for his priest father to come and bless the child.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 July 2026
Definition of priest
Noun
  • The Burkes were also very religious, with Dawud occasionally serving as a Pentecostal preacher.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
  • John Lewis Dyer, an itinerant Methodist preacher, arrived with the earliest prospectors in 1862.
    — John Meyer, Denver Post, 26 July 2026
Definition of preacher
Noun
  • Among the residential buildings were the home of a deacon named Tisous and another that researchers think may have originally been a house church before the construction of the basilica.
    — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 6 July 2026
  • Among them were the house of Tisous, identified as a church deacon and dating to the second half of the fourth century, which archaeologists believe served as a house church before the construction of the city’s basilica.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
Definition of deacon
Noun
  • In the first report, senior cleric Mohammad-Bagher Kharrazi, a relative of the Khamenei family by marriage, claimed Pezeshkian had repeatedly threatened to resign and was warned that his next resignation would be accepted.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • But Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a Muslim cleric who has acted as a middleman between the government and bandit groups, told me that economic development would be more effective than bombs.
    — Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of cleric
Noun
  • However, a reverend in Zambia — Billiance Chondwe — says he's noticed a change.
    — Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 18 June 2026
  • Spirtual foundation Astara, where Guidera reportedly served as a reverend, paid tribute to the late actor in an emotional social media post over the weekend.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 9 June 2026
Definition of reverend
Noun
  • Of all the precious goods accumulated by the rulers and ecclesiastics of late medieval Ethiopia, the most charged of all were books.
    — Peter Brown, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
  • This shop for ecclesiastics has an exquisite selection of high-quality pieces.
    — Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2019
Definition of ecclesiastic
Noun
  • The Mexican fan palm, supposedly brought here by the mission-building padres to supply Palm Sunday foliage, can grow taller, maybe 10 stories, and skinnier, and can dip and sway camera-readily in the wind.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The group has since evolved to the comité de padres and grown to roughly 30 mothers.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 18 Apr. 2024
Definition of padre

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Cite this Entry

“Churchman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churchman. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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