clergyman

noun

Definition of clergymannext
as in preacher

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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 clergyman 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 The trio of vicars starts with James Norton as Sidney Chambers, the doe-eyed clergyman with a taste for cool jazz and clever women. — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026 From the altar, the priest—whom a fellow clergyman introduced as being el Ĉinio, or from China—delivered the readings, blessed the Eucharist, and invited us to interŝanĝi the sign of the paco. — Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for clergyman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergyman
  1. preacher
  2. churchman
  3. priest
  4. deacon
  5. reverend
  6. cleric
  7. clergyperson
  8. ecclesiastic
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of preacher
Noun
  • 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, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Definition of churchman
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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Seven top clergypersons of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including the church head, Karekin II, have been charged with crimes related to the church’s refusal to restore a mutinous bishop.
    — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2026
  • What makes the family tradition sustainable in central Massachusetts, where the Vallelis now live, is a pastor-sharing arrangement between two congregations that couldn’t afford a full-time clergyperson on their own.
    — G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2020
Definition of clergyperson
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

Browse Nearby Words

clergy
clergyman
clergymen
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Cite this Entry

“Clergyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergyman. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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