as in beggar
a person who lives by public begging
those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in monastic
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 mendicant
Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Instead of withdrawing from the world in isolated monasteries, members of this order travel as mendicants to aid the poor as well as serve as missionaries and teachers.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 9 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
All these words strike me as vaguely offensive except for mendicant and supplicant.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
But both mendicant and supplicant have a religious connotation.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
The island was a coda of sorts: a place of Christian pilgrimage since the death of a local mendicant, later canonized as St. Cuthbert, in 687.
—Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
The fortunes of alphabetical order were further advanced by the growth of mendicant preaching orders.
—Katherine A. Powers, WSJ, 16 Oct. 2020
Noun
In response, a new form of religious life emerged: the mendicant friars.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Adjective
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Instead of withdrawing from the world in isolated monasteries, members of this order travel as mendicants to aid the poor as well as serve as missionaries and teachers.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 9 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
All these words strike me as vaguely offensive except for mendicant and supplicant.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
But both mendicant and supplicant have a religious connotation.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
The island was a coda of sorts: a place of Christian pilgrimage since the death of a local mendicant, later canonized as St. Cuthbert, in 687.
—Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
The fortunes of alphabetical order were further advanced by the growth of mendicant preaching orders.
—Katherine A. Powers, WSJ, 16 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendicant
Noun
-
The beggars, widows, and families with sick relatives who once made a pilgrimage to the gates of the parliament building in the Green Zone to beg lawmakers for help are now barred from entry.—
Ned Parker,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2012
-
All the beggars at the intersection of Lee Road and the off-ramp of I-4 are completely out of hand.—
Ticked Off,
Orlando Sentinel,
18 July 2024
Adjective
-
On Monday, the Buddhist Association of China said in a statement that Shi had been stripped of his ordination certificate – an official proof of a monk’s or nun’s qualification to enter monastic life.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
28 July 2025
-
Taste of Tibet Everyone is welcome to try authentic Tibetan meals in a true, monastic atmosphere.—
Caroline Ritzie,
The Enquirer,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
But degraded conventual forces could drive Putin to other means of exerting force.—
Matt Seyler,
ABC News,
10 May 2022
-
The Rev. Brad Heckathorne, a Conventual Franciscan friar, performed the ceremony at the chapel at Duke University.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2017
Adjective
-
Fast forward to today—on the heels of a decades-long conservative family values movement—and that very same clinic is now being vilified by conservative religious leaders.—
Time,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Broward County synagogues also are facing a religious school teacher shortage.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
What feels like a delay can actually be divine timing in disguise.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 Aug. 2025
-
Yet Chekhov’s attentive, observant witness of these souls struggling feels like a kind of a divine love.—
Philip Metres
July 30,
Literary Hub,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
The complaint says he’s previously fought for the legal right to use sacramental plant medicines religiously.—
Julia Marnin,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2025
-
Anand is a neurologist and the author of The Mind Electric, out in June 2025 Within the walls of a hospital, privacy is sacred—the intimate details of someone’s body and illness are meant to be as carefully guarded, as quietly delivered, as a sacramental confession.—
Pria Anand,
TIME,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mendicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendicant. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share