as in priests
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 clerics
The relative success of the war elevated the Revolutionary Guard from a small, street-level militia, initially created to protect Khomeini and the other clerics at the forefront of the Islamic Revolution, into the symbolic defenders of the theocracy.
—
Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026
Officially, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the military force sworn to protect Iran’s ruling clerics.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 6 Apr. 2026
Ramadan and Eid is a time of joy for Muslims, but this year, the holiday mood was dampened, local clerics said.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Mar. 2026
These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones, and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was selected to become Iran's supreme leader last weekend by the country's council of religious clerics after serving as a close aide to his father for years.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
But the Iranian system of clerics and militants defied the president, selecting in Khamenei’s son a man viewed as even more hostile to the West than his father was.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Wednesday reportedly broke his silence in his first message since being appointed last week by a council of clerics, according to state television.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
After the war, Mojtaba Khamenei studied under prominent clerics in Qom.
—Emma Graham,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026
Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026
Officially, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the military force sworn to protect Iran’s ruling clerics.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 6 Apr. 2026
Ramadan and Eid is a time of joy for Muslims, but this year, the holiday mood was dampened, local clerics said.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Mar. 2026
These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones, and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was selected to become Iran's supreme leader last weekend by the country's council of religious clerics after serving as a close aide to his father for years.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
But the Iranian system of clerics and militants defied the president, selecting in Khamenei’s son a man viewed as even more hostile to the West than his father was.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Wednesday reportedly broke his silence in his first message since being appointed last week by a council of clerics, according to state television.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
After the war, Mojtaba Khamenei studied under prominent clerics in Qom.
—Emma Graham,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clerics
Noun
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But a few days later, one of the priests — Father Pierre Rai, from the nearby village Qlayaa — was killed by an artillery shell which locals say was Israel's, and Israel says was Hezbollah's.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
5 Apr. 2026
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You, obviously, and your -- and your brother priests are on Pentagon property taking orders, obviously, through the military chain of command.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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This type of apocalyptic thought has roots in the 19th century, when many American preachers turned toward more literal readings of the Bible.—
Shalom Goldman,
The Conversation,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clerics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clerics. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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