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
-
Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026 -
Others are subsidiaries of conglomerates, known as bonyads, that answer to the clergy.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The husband and wife's community service began with a step of faith among fellow church members.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
-
There are two dogs, for example, in Bartholomeus van Bassen’s painting of an imagined church interior with the tomb of William the Silent (pictured above, 1620).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
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 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
