as in church
the group ordained to perform clerical functions in the Christian church
when people find out she's a member of the clergy, they suddenly change their manner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 clergy
In 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, New York City police arrested Ruiz and other clergy and city officials who tried to prevent a local immigrant rights activist from being deported.
—
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
Their education facet focuses on clergy training, working with reproductive endocrinologists and doing panel conversations.
—Jessica Tzikas, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2025
Tensions also grew between Iraq's Sunni institutions over conflicting announcements, with dozens of Iraqis performing Eid prayers on Sunday, outside mosques and without clergy, according to media reports.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
The fledglings were savored by the nobility and the clergy, who, according to Fritz’s research, passed decrees to keep commoners from killing them, to preserve them for themselves.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clergy
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
Their education facet focuses on clergy training, working with reproductive endocrinologists and doing panel conversations.
—Jessica Tzikas, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2025
Tensions also grew between Iraq's Sunni institutions over conflicting announcements, with dozens of Iraqis performing Eid prayers on Sunday, outside mosques and without clergy, according to media reports.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
The fledglings were savored by the nobility and the clergy, who, according to Fritz’s research, passed decrees to keep commoners from killing them, to preserve them for themselves.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clergy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergy
Noun
-
The liberal justices on the court sought to defend the country’s separation between church and state, which has previously not allowed public funding for religious charter schools.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
-
In 1840, the church opened the first of an eventual fifteen liberal arts colleges, all free-thinking, abolitionist, and dedicated to educating men and women on an equal basis.—
Richard D. Mahoney,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Amicable relations had long existed between the Catholic Church in Rome and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but the Roman episcopate embraced Mussolini’s regime and its aggressive foreign policy in the mid-1930s.—
Ian Campbell,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Feb. 2022
-
The selection of Bishop McElroy, whose diocese has never been led by a cardinal, sends a message about the pope’s wish for a more liberal orientation for the U.S. episcopate.—
Francis X. Rocca,
WSJ,
29 May 2022
Cite this Entry
“Clergy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergy. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share