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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
  • The seeds are then planted in California, where Eddie Anderson, a clergyman, political organizer and the founder of Freedom Farms Collective, helps oversee their growth.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Costco ditches its Kirkland beer Pope Leo XIV, who grew up listening to popular American television preacher Archbishop Fulton Sheen, praised his fellow Illinois clergyman as an inspiration today on the eve of Sheen’s beatification.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of clergyman
Noun
  • For critics inside the church, however, that raises a difficult question about the kind of assistance priests should offer soldiers.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Sheen was born May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Illinois, and was ordained a priest in 1919.
    — Aleja Hertzler-McCain, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of priest
Noun
  • With bow and arrow in hand, Anghba finds his hunt for a wild boar across a riverbank interrupted by a raft floating downstream, as former tribespeople surround a jovial American preacher (Douglas Henshall), much to the chieftain’s chagrin.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Among the line-up are several Black Americans, one of whom is Oscar Rankin, a Black prizefighter and preacher, well known in the Black community.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of preacher
Noun
  • Paden’s great-aunt, Dixie Wilson, talked of her great-nephew’s service as a junior deacon at the local New Market Christian Church.
    — Glenn Rice, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
  • His mother, Karen, sang in the choir, and his father, Andrew, was a deacon.
    — Jason Parham, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of deacon
Noun
  • Yes, those of us who are both excited and nervous about the promise of AI welcome the prospect of kings and clerics and populist politicians alike standing up to the tech lords — who, frankly, could use some perspectives other than their own.
    — Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Also figuring prominently in the proceedings is the cleric’s acolyte Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit), a fictional character representing the many women who took part in the movement.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of cleric
Noun
  • But my little Outlander sweeties, this is not just any reverend, this is Reverend Wakefield.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2026
  • However, a reverend in Zambia — Billiance Chondwe — says he's noticed a change.
    — Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 18 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

Browse Nearby Words

churchly
churchman
churchmen
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Cite this Entry

“Churchman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churchman. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

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