ecclesiastic 1 of 2

ecclesiastic

2 of 2

noun

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
Adjective
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 Forget Fleabag, Conclave, Nobody Wants This, or Ramy, there’s a new ecclesiastic bombshell on the block. Riann Phillip, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025 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 As Sheldon Wolin, author of Politics and Vision, and many others have pointed out, the Middle Ages and Renaissance saw a powerful flow of ideas from ecclesiastic to secular political philosophy. Jonathan Schlefer, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2015 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 The church is an example of early ecclesiastic architecture, is the second oldest synagogue remaining in Cincinnati and is the oldest still church still used for religious purposes. Max Londberg, Cincinnati.com, 5 Aug. 2019
Noun
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastic
Adjective
  • In an initial ruling in March, Walsh sided with the OCA, the largest of three Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in the United States.
    Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 5 June 2025
  • Because the actual date of the spring equinox can differ by a day or two, the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21 to define it, known as the ecclesiastical equinox.
    Carlie Procell, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Nevertheless, the walking dead break in anyway and the boy runs for his life, hiding out in a church where his father is the priest.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 18 June 2025
  • But, in many ways, Chryseis—in spite of the apparent privileging of her name and her identity as a priest’s daughter that makes its way into the later stories about her—is the more silent, the more difficult to bring back to life, of the two.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • At a religious forum in Nairobi this month, Ruto called upon church leaders to encourage youth members to take up overseas job opportunities, part of a wider strategy to meet his administration’s official target of sending 1 million Kenyans per year overseas.
    Martin K.N Siele, semafor.com, 20 June 2025
  • In both, teacups make important appearances, as does faith, religious belief, and heartbreak.
    Diana Arterian June 20, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • These were often portraits of people at work—jockeys, preachers, movie stars—that showcase the indiscriminate pleasure Crews took in shoptalk.
    Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
  • The preacher's son said his father has been in the ICU and never regained consciousness.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 18 June 2025
Noun
  • Descended from a long line of clergymen, he was apprenticed to a bookseller at fifteen, which seems to have decided his professional fate.
    Merve Emre, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
  • The daughter of an Anglican clergyman, Emily lived almost all of her life in Haworth, a remote village in the southern Pennines, hundreds of miles from literary London.
    Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • Leo spent 20 years as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru, and working side by side with Pope Francis, helped suppress the group.
    Amalia Huot-Marchand, The Hill, 21 June 2025
  • Columban monasteries remained free of the control of local bishops and were instead directly subordinate to the pope.
    Bernd Roeck June 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ecclesiastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastic. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

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