CLERGYMAN Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

clergyman

noun

Definition of clergyman

as in preacher

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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 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, 23 Sep. 2026 Alongside Garfield’s Ploughman is Cosmo Jarvis as the true historical figure Wat Tyler, Jamie Bell as clergyman John Ball and Thomasin McKenzie as fellow rebel Alyce. — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026 In 1986, Bishop Desmond Tutu was installed as the first Black clergyman to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Robin, our hero, is the son of a country clergyman. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for clergyman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergyman

Noun

The preacher was Walter White, who led an Oregon City offshoot of the Followers of Christ, an Idaho sect that spurns medical treatment as a show of faith.

— Noelle Crombie, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2026
Growing up, the brothers spent much of their childhood traveling around the South with their father, a Pentecostal Church preacher, before eventually forming the band in Nashville in 1999, per American Songwriter.

— Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of preacher

Noun

Just before the Devil drawing is a churchman’s confession of a lengthy list of sins.

— Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of churchman

Noun

But the priest begins to quietly resist, secretly returning the bodies to their families at great personal risk.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2026
The federal agents departed the hospital shortly after a priest appeared at the scene of the protest, video shows.

— Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of priest

Noun

For example, on the surface, the Hallelujah Diet book appears to be a Christian diet, written by a reverend.

— Adrienne Krone, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2026
The series followed a reverend, his wife, and their seven children through life’s ups and downs.

— Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of reverend

Noun

For the same reasons little dogs appeared so frequently at the feet of dead women (and clerics) in tomb sculpture, plenty of Renaissance portraits feature them as a symbol of fidelity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
Attendance was mandatory, but a cleric with a loudspeaker tried to give the event a festive air.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 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

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clergy

clergyman

clergymen

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“Clergyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergyman. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of clergyman

noun

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