nun

noun

Definition of nunnext
as in abbess

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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 nun This June, Pope Leo appointed an Italian nun to lead a top Vatican office on human rights, the Associated Press reported. — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 The passage concerned the confession of the nun whose rape the detective investigates. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026 She was named by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person last year, after Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas died at the age of 116. — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026 Namgyal and his wife, Pasang, a former Buddhist nun, who hail from the Khumbu region of Nepal and live on the property with Higdon. — David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nun
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nun
  1. abbess
  2. monk
  3. prioress
  4. priestess
  5. religious
  6. friar
  7. novice
  8. sister
Noun
  • Hildegard was a Catholic abbess of the Benedictine Order.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Now, thanks to a greater emphasis on women’s education in recent years, Tibetan Buddhist nuns are increasingly becoming teachers and abbesses.
    — Darcie Price-Wallace, The Conversation, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of abbess
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 slow-burn thriller is partially based on a 17th century ballad in which the heroic outlaw’s cousin, a malevolent prioress, bleeds the older, ailing Robin to death under the guise of the ancient medical treatment known as bloodletting.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026
  • After Robin is gravely injured, he is taken in by the sage prioress Brigid (Jodie Comer), who nurses him back to health at an island convent.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 17 June 2026
Definition of prioress
Noun
  • Or would Azriel instead mate with Gwyn, the traumatized priestess turned badass Valkyrie warrior whose early experience of violence echoes Azriel’s own?
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The oracle was a priestess who entered a trance state to convey answers from Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy.
    — Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of priestess
Noun
  • As a young religious, Bishop-elect Lombardo did missionary work in Bolivia and Honduras.
    — Laura Rodríguez Presa, chicagotribune.com, 11 Sep. 2020
Definition of religious
Noun
  • Immediately below us, a bald-headed friar passes; a young woman greets him on her knees, raising her hands in supplication.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The hotel works with a local Franciscan friar from Ravello, Friar Marcus, to introduce interested guests to the chapel, or whisk them on tours of Ravello, his local parish (and the home of Villas Cimbrone and Rufolo).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of friar
Noun
  • By July, morale among immigration officers had dipped below its nadir during the Biden Administration, with agents now complaining of being overextended, inundated with novice recruits, and undermined by inflammatory rhetoric from on high.
    — Francisco Cantú, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Thomas was a novice attorney who had already run and lost as the Republican candidate for state attorney general.
    — Michael Kiefer, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of novice
Noun
  • As is the case in its sister hotel Villa la Coste, a dizzying array of frequently changing contemporary artworks are displayed to distracting effect throughout.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Kerhonkson was also within easy reach of her sister, who had moved with her family from the East Village to Millbrook, in Dutchess County, in 2024.
    — Heather Senison, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of sister

Browse Nearby Words

numskulls
nun
nuncio
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Cite this Entry

“Nun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nun. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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