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
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Recent Examples of clergy
David Williamson is a member of clergy in the Humanist tradition, Co-Founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community, and Secretary of the Interfaith Council of Central Florida.
—
David Williamson, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2025
Cardinals are the highest-ranking clergy of the Catholic Church, after the pope.
—Christopher Watson, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2025
This, in turn, exposed many clergy to political persecution, including Óscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1980.
—Omar G. Encarnación, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
But most innocuous follow-up questions about a clergy member’s calling would reveal that information, even if indirectly.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clergy
David Williamson, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2025
Cardinals are the highest-ranking clergy of the Catholic Church, after the pope.
—Christopher Watson, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2025
This, in turn, exposed many clergy to political persecution, including Óscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1980.
—Omar G. Encarnación, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
But most innocuous follow-up questions about a clergy member’s calling would reveal that information, even if indirectly.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clergy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergy
Noun
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In 1860, members of Smith's immediate family and others who had rejected Young's leadership sought to reorganize the church Smith had led.—
Frank E. Lockwood,
Arkansas Online,
24 May 2025
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However, the meeting hardly quelled tensions between the two churches.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Vatican observers have long speculated that Francis saw Prevost as a potential successor, especially given his rapid rise and central role in shaping the modern episcopate.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Clergy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergy. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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