as in aristocracy
individuals carefully selected as being the best of a class
a gathering of Mafia dons that was in effect a convocation of the nation's priesthood of organized crime
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Recent Examples of priesthood
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis joined the Catholic priesthood at 18 and rose up the ranks of the Argentine clergy.
—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 15 July 2025
Back in the 1980s, Nicanor Palacios was an altar boy with Leo during his early priesthood in nearby Piura, and traveled the area with him for services.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
Long before the papacy, even before his first steps toward priesthood, for Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the boy who would go on to become Pope Francis – there was his hometown sports club, Buenos Aires’ San Lorenzo de Almagro.
—Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, The Conversation, 9 May 2025
When Pope Francis convened Roman Catholic bishops at the Vatican in 2019 to discuss the ordination of married men in remote parts of South America, the meeting raised expectations about the possibility of revolutionizing the celibate priesthood.
—Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for priesthood
Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 15 July 2025
Back in the 1980s, Nicanor Palacios was an altar boy with Leo during his early priesthood in nearby Piura, and traveled the area with him for services.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
Long before the papacy, even before his first steps toward priesthood, for Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the boy who would go on to become Pope Francis – there was his hometown sports club, Buenos Aires’ San Lorenzo de Almagro.
—Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, The Conversation, 9 May 2025
When Pope Francis convened Roman Catholic bishops at the Vatican in 2019 to discuss the ordination of married men in remote parts of South America, the meeting raised expectations about the possibility of revolutionizing the celibate priesthood.
—Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for priesthood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for priesthood
Noun
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Victor comes from the aristocracy.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
8 Nov. 2025
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Dark Renaissance will teach you a great deal about Marlowe’s brilliance and the Elizabethan era—its theater, the aristocracy, the spy craft, and the finer points of drawing and quartering religious dissidents.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Streep will play veteran New York property market journalist Diane Castle who, disillusioned with writing about the wealthy elite, probes a record-breaking sale of a new penthouse and the buyer’s identity for what could be the story of a lifetime.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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Under the guidance of Julian Nagelsmann, Germany has rediscovered its attacking rhythm and pressing intensity, signaling a potential return to the elite.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Not to mention, some of the leagues' bests have graced his work, including Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
3 Nov. 2025
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The kicking game was so bad that Freeman sounded like Brian Kelly at his sarcastic best when asked about Noah Burnette, Erik Schmidt and Marcello Diomede combining to miss two extra points and one field goal.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Frey, a progressive Democrat, and Fateh, a socialist who has been compared to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, not only differ in their political ideologies but also in their approaches to housing and other issues.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Nov. 2025
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Mamdani’s win represents a loss for Wall Street, whose titans tried to fund his defeat and must now work with the mayor-elect.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Safer and more efficient batteries For society, such advances mean safer and more efficient batteries that accelerate the transition to clean energy.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
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Any novel about a train is a study of society and its ineradicable divisions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Priesthood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/priesthood. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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