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 Marsh was the provost of Trinity College during Swift’s time, and had risen to be the Primate, or chief clergyman, in Ireland. — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 2 May 2026 McColumn is a retired Brigadier General and clergyman from Warner Robins, Georgia. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026 The clergyman warns that failure to do so would jeopardize the future of Iran as well as the stability of the entire Middle East, unleashing an even more volatile and repressive regime in the war’s wake. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026 The clergyman warned, however, that failure to do so would jeopardize the future of Iran and the stability of the entire Middle East, unleashing an even more volatile and repressive Tehran government in the war’s wake. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 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
  • Later in the service, the choir would sing a foot-stomping, hand-clapping rendition of a gospel song that set the tone for the preacher to follow with his gospel message.
    — Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The story begins in 1810, when Johann Wilhelm Ebel, a young cleric who had studied at the University of Königsberg, returned to the city as a teacher and preacher.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 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
  • Even a local Catholic priest launched a holy war against the school over its new athletic facility.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 17 Aug. 2026
  • But then his family temple needed a priest, and his life onstage came to an end.
    — Pico Iyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of priest
Noun
  • This summer, archaeologists uncovered a 1,700-year-old Byzantine city in Egypt, complete with a church and a deacon's home.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Church deacons want it to be called Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, its previous name.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of deacon
Noun
  • However, a reverend in Zambia — Billiance Chondwe — says he's noticed a change.
    — Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 18 June 2026
  • Spirtual foundation Astara, where Guidera reportedly served as a reverend, paid tribute to the late actor in an emotional social media post over the weekend.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 9 June 2026
Definition of reverend
Noun
  • The story begins in 1810, when Johann Wilhelm Ebel, a young cleric who had studied at the University of Königsberg, returned to the city as a teacher and preacher.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • But both Australian clerics successfully appealed their convictions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of cleric
Noun
  • 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 25 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of clergyman for Spanish Speakers

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