PASTOR Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

pastor

noun

Definition of pastor

as in rector

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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 pastor In another last-minute filing, his lawyers also object to the characterization about him as a pastor. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026 But the suggestion that the Johnson County megachurch pastor could hold a narrow lead is remarkable, considering that Kansas voters haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than 90 years. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026 The former pastor, who founded Texas megachurch Gateway in 2000, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but all except six months of the time was suspended. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Sep. 2026 The asylum-seeking evangelical pastor dreamed of creating a vibrant gathering spot for Venezuelan immigrants. — Elliot Spagat, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pastor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastor

Noun

In 2018, Father Jan Kevin Schmidt, rector of the cathedral, requested that the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments grant the title of minor basilica to the historic church in Cincinnati.

— Jennie Key, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2026
Pernkopf was a Nazi functionary who became dean of the medical faculty in 1938 and rector of the university in 1943.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of rector

Noun

The seeds are then planted in California, where Eddie Anderson, a clergyman, political organizer and the founder of Freedom Farms Collective, helps oversee their growth.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Costco ditches its Kirkland beer Pope Leo XIV, who grew up listening to popular American television preacher Archbishop Fulton Sheen, praised his fellow Illinois clergyman as an inspiration today on the eve of Sheen’s beatification.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of clergyman

Noun

The couple were married by a female vicar, per the Daily Mail.

— Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
Nearly every murder is solved by the end of the episode, but despite the unusual twist of having the village vicar team up with the police, the real action comes from the relationships among the characters.

— Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026

Definition of vicar

Noun

This one stars Cox himself as a mysterious and formidable old man in an undertaker’s suit and parson’s hat who wanders into an Arizona border town in 1890 to gather the names of dead Mexican laborers.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
And what does the old man who sleeps by the fire know about the dead parson?

— Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026

Definition of parson

Noun

Meanwhile, churchmen claimed the authority to restrain violence, encouraged just wars and threatened violent behaviors with spiritual sanctions.

— Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026
Not all birth rituals depended on the intercession of a saint or the authority of a churchman.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026

Definition of churchman

Noun

So has his dog, a German shepherd and very good boy named Odin.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026
Its nonhuman co-star, a soulful German shepherd playing a former combat dog named Odin, ambles out of the Alaskan wilderness and into view of a woman (Anna Lambe) driving by in a pickup.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of shepherd

Noun

The Mexican fan palm, supposedly brought here by the mission-building padres to supply Palm Sunday foliage, can grow taller, maybe 10 stories, and skinnier, and can dip and sway camera-readily in the wind.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The group has since evolved to the comité de padres and grown to roughly 30 mothers.

— Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 18 Apr. 2024

Definition of padre

Browse Nearby Words

past masters

pastor

pastoral

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“Pastor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastor. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of pastor

noun

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