FRIAR Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

friar

noun

Definition of friar

as in monk

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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 friar The film, which is playing Out of Competition on the Lido, charts the brutality of Spanish friar Padre Enciso over the population in the 17th century. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026 Another work, a small double-sided panel portraying the Virgin Mary and Child with a Franciscan friar in adoration on one side and the dead Christ in Pietà on the other, was also stolen. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 17 Aug. 2026 Fra Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who was a medieval Italian Franciscan friar and explorer in 1244 went to Mongolia [as a papal ambassador]. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 13 June 2026 The storied residence was first commissioned in 1712 by Anna Gravina, Princess of Gravina and Valguarnera, and it's also attributed to Dominican friar and architect Tommaso Maria Napoli. — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for friar

Recent Examples of Synonyms for friar

Noun

Ælfwig is a slightly stronger contender, according to the study, as he was known to have been a monk at Westminster before becoming abbot and may therefore have had a clearer connection to the church.

— Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026
According to legends that circulated in the Middle Ages, the Codex Gigas was created by a monk in Podlažice who sinned and was sentenced to death by immurement—live entombment in a walled enclosure.

— Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of monk

Noun

The preacher was Walter White, who led an Oregon City offshoot of the Followers of Christ, an Idaho sect that spurns medical treatment as a show of faith.

— Noelle Crombie, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2026
Growing up, the brothers spent much of their childhood traveling around the South with their father, a Pentecostal Church preacher, before eventually forming the band in Nashville in 1999, per American Songwriter.

— Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of preacher

Noun

The Bible’s message was seen as not only informative but salvific, and the monastic who memorized its words filled his or her soul with divine wisdom.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Historical questions remain, however, regarding whether such practices were primarily reserved for monastics or widely practiced among laypeople.

— Daniel M. Stuart, The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026

Definition of monastic

Noun

For example, on the surface, the Hallelujah Diet book appears to be a Christian diet, written by a reverend.

— Adrienne Krone, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2026
The series followed a reverend, his wife, and their seven children through life’s ups and downs.

— Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of reverend

Noun

For the same reasons little dogs appeared so frequently at the feet of dead women (and clerics) in tomb sculpture, plenty of Renaissance portraits feature them as a symbol of fidelity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
Attendance was mandatory, but a cleric with a loudspeaker tried to give the event a festive air.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of cleric

Noun

Identifying an abbot Rodwell found the bones were still jumbled together inside the coffin, which was hewn from a single block of limestone and measured about 7 feet (2 meters) long, with walls about 4 inches (10 centimeters) thick on average.

— Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026
Variations on this legend suggest that the monk had broken his monastic vows, that the creation of the book in a single night was a deal offered by the monastery’s abbot, and that the book was intended to glorify his monastery.

— Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of abbot

Noun

On the front lines during natural disasters Janinna Sesa, former director of Caritas Chiclayo, worked with the bishop for eight years, including during the pandemic, the flooding caused by the coastal El Niño in 2017, and Cyclone Yaku in 2023.

— Claudia Rebaza, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2026
His last stop is Peru, where Leo holds citizenship and spent two decades as a missionary and bishop.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of bishop

Browse Nearby Words

friable

friar

friaries

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“Friar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friar. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of friar

noun

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