as in ecclesiastical
of or relating to a church
a council to make final determinations on ecclesiastic matters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
as the leading ecclesiastic for his church in the state, the bishop must be beyond reproach in everything he does
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 ecclesiastic
Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
Think of it like an ecclesiastic LinkedIn.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2025
Forbidden passion fueled the plot of The Thorn Birds in which the late Richard Chamberlain, played the priest Ralph de Bricassart, a heartthrob in ecclesiastic wear.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025
America has no aristocracy or ecclesiastic master class.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Feb. 2022
The Vatican defended the extension by saying the agreement was purely ecclesiastic and pastoral in nature, and not political.
—Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020
The motif appeared in ecclesiastic architecture from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
—Jasper Bastian, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But Thondup is also sharply critical of the Tibetan political and ecclesiastic elite for their gross mismanagement of their relations with China.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
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
Rather, Ryrie, a prize-winning historian as well as an ecclesiastic, has broadened his scope to take in nearly 750 years of doubt and disbelief in the professedly Christian West.
—Graham Hillard, National Review, 5 Dec. 2019
The old cloister, as the walled domain of the Chapter of Canons was called, housed unusual and not invariably pious persons, as well as the worldly ecclesiastics themselves.
—Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
This was the Fairy Tree L’Arbre des Dames or Le Beau Mai tree, whereupon extra-ecclesiastic celebrations were staged.
—C.d. Wright, Harper's magazine, 10 Jan. 2019
There are nearly 70 community leaders — from entrepreneurs to ecclesiastics (and a rabbi thrown in for good measure) — who have joined to address the problems that have held Louisville back for decades.
—Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2018
The end result was a new brand of ecclesiastics and lay Catholics who felt comfortable detaching themselves from Franco’s regime, or even fighting it head-on in a variety of forums, including student movements, intellectual circles, unions, political parties, and the media.
—Victor Pérez-Díaz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
Adjective
Waugh was based for many years in a grand house in nearby Combe Florey and adapted this local ecclesiastic landmark for fictional purposes.
—Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
Think of it like an ecclesiastic LinkedIn.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2025
Forbidden passion fueled the plot of The Thorn Birds in which the late Richard Chamberlain, played the priest Ralph de Bricassart, a heartthrob in ecclesiastic wear.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025
America has no aristocracy or ecclesiastic master class.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Feb. 2022
The Vatican defended the extension by saying the agreement was purely ecclesiastic and pastoral in nature, and not political.
—Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020
The motif appeared in ecclesiastic architecture from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
—Jasper Bastian, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But Thondup is also sharply critical of the Tibetan political and ecclesiastic elite for their gross mismanagement of their relations with China.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
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
Rather, Ryrie, a prize-winning historian as well as an ecclesiastic, has broadened his scope to take in nearly 750 years of doubt and disbelief in the professedly Christian West.
—Graham Hillard, National Review, 5 Dec. 2019
The old cloister, as the walled domain of the Chapter of Canons was called, housed unusual and not invariably pious persons, as well as the worldly ecclesiastics themselves.
—Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
This was the Fairy Tree L’Arbre des Dames or Le Beau Mai tree, whereupon extra-ecclesiastic celebrations were staged.
—C.d. Wright, Harper's magazine, 10 Jan. 2019
There are nearly 70 community leaders — from entrepreneurs to ecclesiastics (and a rabbi thrown in for good measure) — who have joined to address the problems that have held Louisville back for decades.
—Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2018
The end result was a new brand of ecclesiastics and lay Catholics who felt comfortable detaching themselves from Franco’s regime, or even fighting it head-on in a variety of forums, including student movements, intellectual circles, unions, political parties, and the media.
—Victor Pérez-Díaz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastic
Adjective
-
Hailing from Marinduque Island is the Moriones Festival, one of the oldest and most revered ecclesiastical festivities in the Philippines.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Determining the exact date of the holiday has a long history and is complicated by the difference between the precise astronomical calendar and the ecclesiastical calendar, which was produced centuries ago.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The concierge specializes in Kyoto’s cultural events, and can help access exclusive ochaya with an interpreter, score tickets to the theater, book dinner reservations, a huge help in Kyoto, or help arrange meetings with monks and priests at the city’s Shinto shrines and temples.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Nonbinary people have often occupied unique positions in their societies, serving as priests, artists, and ceremonial leaders.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tobolowsky previously rejected motions from other Gateway elders, ruling that the suit was not a religious issue and could be handled in secular court.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Officials in these countries have argued that the Brotherhood operates through a mix of religious outreach, political activism, charitable organizations and media platforms to influence public opinion and challenge state authority.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His father, much older than his mom, was a preacher who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Among them was Sandra Olewine, a bishop of the United Methodist Church’s California-Nevada Conference.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Primal Fear charts the story of a Chicago defense attorney who believes that his altar boy client is not guilty of murdering a Catholic bishop.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ecclesiastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastic. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
