congregation

noun

ˌkäŋ-gri-ˈgā-shən How to pronounce congregation (audio)
Definition of congregationnext
1
as in church
a body of persons gathered for religious worship the whole congregation began to sing with great fervor

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in assembly
a body of people come together in one place a congregation of journalists were at the hotel bar, discussing the latest developments

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 congregation One congregation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is working to change that, opening its doors wider and embracing a message rooted in acceptance. — Josh Sanders, CBS News, 29 June 2026 Their mother, who had just gotten a shout-out on the Today show on her 84th birthday, usually spent Sundays with a group of friends, watching a livestream of the church service at Guthrie’s Manhattan congregation. — Irin Carmon, Vulture, 29 June 2026 Coffins on display at Grand Mosalla An outdoor stage at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah, or congregation hall, at his compound in downtown Tehran. — Nasser Karimi, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026 The Zion Church is among the largest churches that are unregistered with the Chinese authorities, defying restrictions from the officially atheist Communist Party requiring believers to worship only in registered congregations. — ABC News, 4 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for congregation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for congregation
  1. church
  2. assembly
  3. assemblage
  4. conference
  5. meeting
  6. audience
Noun
  • So, Galetto was delighted to learn that the first American pope would be speaking live and receiving an award less than two miles from his church, on the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday.
    — Danny Freeman, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
  • Parishioners at Saint Agnes said they were saddened by the schism and would continue to pray for a united church.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
Definition of church
Noun
  • Alysa Guffey More than 50 people gathered in 90-degree heat to protest welcoming data centers to Indianapolis before packing the public assembly room on the second floor of the City-County Building.
    — Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 July 2026
  • Management intends for this centralized assembly method to establish a standardized production system for future units.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
Definition of assembly
Noun
  • Music director Eun Sun Kim leads the huge complement of musicians, an orchestral assemblage that required an expansion of the pit when the opera was first performed here in 1938.
    — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 25 June 2026
  • Who could forget the countless iterations of her squad, after all, the varied assemblages of laughing friends, mostly women, featuring in Swift’s Fourth of July carousels and birthday tributes and more through the years?
    — Kase Wickman, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026
Definition of assemblage
Noun
  • The All-Star reserves were selected by the WNBA’s 15 head coaches, who were tasked with voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference.
    — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 8 July 2026
  • Waiting to hear from the Vatican Kunst said he was tapped by Bishop Daniel Felton — who presented Buh’s case at the conference — to gather information regarding a possible cause for sainthood.
    — Vivian Wilson, Twin Cities, 8 July 2026
Definition of conference
Noun
  • An explosion went off near the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus on Tuesday, where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night ahead of a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, according to French and Syrian media.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • The build-up to this meeting has been tense, with defense spending remaining a contentious topic.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 7 July 2026
Definition of meeting
Noun
  • Those included a charmingly cluttered Bucket family home, a lush candyland with the smell of chocolate piped through the Royal Theater to complement the full-size mock chocolate river, and a glass elevator that flew above the audience.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • While the choreography was designed for a global TV audience, the underlying technology has broader industrial applications.
    — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of audience

Browse Nearby Words

congregating
congregation
congregations
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Cite this Entry

“Congregation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/congregation. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on congregation

Nglish: Translation of congregation for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about congregation

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