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
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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clergy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergy. Accessed 7 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on clergy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!