NOVITIATE Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

novitiate

noun

nō-ˈvi-shət

as in novice

a person who is just starting out in a field of activity a novitiate in the rarefied world of international diplomacy, the recently appointed ambassador is treading cautiously

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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 novitiate The novitiate, in this case, is Colin Smith (Harry Melling), a genial young man from the southeast London suburb of Bromley. —

Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2026 Community shapes people into better versions of themselves Schloegel remembers feeling anxious at the start of his novitiate, the period of living in community with other Augustinians before taking his vows. —

Jason Derose, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025 The origin story of the evil spirit Valak from The Conjuring 2, The Nun stars Taissa Farmiga (sister of Vera) as Irene, a young novitiate and clairvoyant summoned to a convent to investigate a fellow nun’s suicide. —

Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025 Already inquiries about becoming an Augustinian novitiate are up fivefold from last year. —

Belinda Luscombe, Time, 1 July 2025 Born and raised in Chicago, Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1981. —

Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025 The Vatican granted her permission to leave the novitiate, and Braverman's secular life began in 1975. —

Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025 There was another case involving 2024’s Immaculate and The First Omen, and both films deal with two young American novitiates whose bodily autonomy is forcibly taken away in the most disturbing ways imaginable. —

Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for novitiate

Noun

This makes these spots good for young anglers and novices as well as those with mobility challenges.

— Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2026
Democrats in Maine, meanwhile, have nominated Graham Platner, a political novice whose grassroots campaign and brash communication style propelled him to a decisive victory over the state’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, who remained on the ballot but suspended her campaign in April.

— Charlie Hunt, The Conversation, 18 June 2026