as in clergy
the group ordained to perform clerical functions in the Christian church
a nation in which the first estate had long held a privileged position
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for first estate
Noun
-
Last week, a video surfaced of an ICE officer who shot a member of the clergy with a pepper ball who had been outside a processing facility just outside Chicago.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
13 Oct. 2025 -
The group combed through publicly available records to map out a network that captured the personal and professional relationships among the College of Cardinals (the senior clergy members who serve as both voters and candidates for the papacy).—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Earlier this year, a church rectory in Cleveland Heights was converted into housing for students, namely women and children in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
21 Oct. 2025
-
They were relit in May 2021 following an $80,000 fundraising campaign by Wright on Main and the church.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
21 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“First estate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/first%20estate. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share