as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
a clergyperson of your choice would be the best one to advise on this spiritual matter
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Recent Examples of clergyperson
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
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergyperson
Noun
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The actor will portray Father Fintan, a Native American spiritualist and Catholic priest.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
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Kilmer had been cast as Catholic priest Father Fintan, but was never able to make it on set because of his health struggles and eventual death in 2025.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Gabriel Olivier, an evangelical preacher, was arrested in May 2021 by police in Brandon, Mississippi, for protesting outside of a city amphitheater with a group.—
Julian Mark,
Washington Post,
20 Mar. 2026
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City said preacher had other options The lawyer for the city of Brandon noted that Olivier had other ways of taking on the restrictions, including challenging them as a violation of the state constitution’s free speech protections.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The pompous clergyman enters the life of the Bennet family, his distant cousins, with the assumption that, given his respectable position and benefactor, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, one of those daughters would be happy to marry him.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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Garage owner and keen early automobilist Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan, the son of a rural English clergyman, built his first car, an eponymous prototype, in 1909.—
Jamie Kitman,
Air Mail,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But Zion Hope is more than just the white building with a red tile roof, said David Griffin, the pastor’s son.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
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Huang said her candor about being a pastor has sparked questions from voters.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clergyperson.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergyperson. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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