as in priests
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastics
Noun
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Pushback did not come only from parishioners but from a group of priests within the diocese.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2026 -
Marcos’s commanders, confronted with throngs of nuns, priests and ordinary civilians pleading, weeping and kneeling in prayer, refused orders to open fire and clear the streets, and Marcos subsequently fled to exile in Hawaii.—
Keith B. Richburg,
Washington Post,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His large band, squeezed onto a stage scarcely longer than two kayaks laid end to end, is composed almost entirely of Haitian preachers’ kids raised in the country’s gospel tradition.—
Emma Madden,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
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In exchange for the preachers' supplying troops to stage boycotts, the businessmen would give the churches money.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The republic has been ruled by clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.—
Max Burman,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
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The men will join a long procession of clerics in the walk to the main altar.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ecclesiastics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastics. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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