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 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 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 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
  • Anton offers him protection, money and a possible escape from Stonemore, while an enigmatic local preacher (played by Kirby), presents him with a very different path.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Soon, the vast stadium was packed — not with rugby fans or concertgoers, but with thousands who came to pray with an African preacher.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 4 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
  • After shooting Lino in the foot, the stranger reveals himself as Father Joe (Kiefer Sutherland), an actual priest who takes on Manhattan’s drug dealers wearing his work clothes.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Helping people was the reason Judge had become a priest many years earlier.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of priest
Noun
  • Corle, 59, is one of the church deacons and works at nearby Eielson Air Force Base.
    — Jan Thacker, Outdoor Life, 3 Sep. 2026
  • 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
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
  • 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
  • In Iraq, the faction earned rebukes from clerics who had previously supported global jihad as well as from more mainstream religious leaders.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 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 14 Sep. 2026.

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