as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
clerics were sharply divided on the issue of whether the war was morally justified
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Recent Examples of cleric
The group’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, who died in 2021, was one of the country’s most radical clerics.
—
Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 9 May 2026
Perhaps the most sensitive matter is Iran, a nation of nasty clerics and old-time belligerents that declared war on America and Israel 47 years ago.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Analysts and clerics are keen to stress the overall importance of this visit to the continent.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
Leo spoke during a gathering of top bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, an Eastern Rite Catholic church whose clerics are in Rome to elect a new patriarch.
—Brian Dakss, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 9 May 2026
Perhaps the most sensitive matter is Iran, a nation of nasty clerics and old-time belligerents that declared war on America and Israel 47 years ago.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Analysts and clerics are keen to stress the overall importance of this visit to the continent.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
Leo spoke during a gathering of top bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, an Eastern Rite Catholic church whose clerics are in Rome to elect a new patriarch.
—Brian Dakss, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleric
Noun
-
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC, has removed a priest as an exorcist and cut ties with the priest's nonprofit organization over comments the priest made about UFOs and demons.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
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Monsignor Stephen Rossetti is a priest and psychologist who has heldprominent positions in the Archdiocese of Washington for decades.—
Michelle Boorstein,
Washington Post,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Before God, Puritan preachers taught, all human callings, all useful work, is equal.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
-
Studio executives might not have had much interest in listening to a preacher from Tupelo, but parent companies could be threatened with viewer anger.—
Isaac Butler,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleric. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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