CLERGYMAN Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

clergyman

noun

Definition of clergyman

as in preacher

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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 clergyman Alongside Garfield’s Ploughman is Cosmo Jarvis as the true historical figure Wat Tyler, Jamie Bell as clergyman John Ball and Thomasin McKenzie as fellow rebel Alyce. — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026 In 1986, Bishop Desmond Tutu was installed as the first Black clergyman to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Such details include McCartney’s bare feet and opposite stride and the other members’ attire (Lennon’s white supposedly represents a clergyman, Starr’s black a mourner, and Harrison’s denim a gravedigger). — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 July 2026 Robin, our hero, is the son of a country clergyman. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for clergyman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clergyman

Noun

But DeFalco is drawn to the sidewalk dwellers, street preachers and parking-lot boozers who also lurk down there and help (or hinder) Ten, usually at a loud volume.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Hollander plays Judge Jack Taylor, an authoritative man who weighs his words carefully, possessing both the warmth and charm of a country preacher and the cold edge of a cult leader.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of preacher

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

In an email sent to priests of the archdiocese on Saturday afternoon and shared with NPR, Archbishop Ronald Hicks also said the deal had not yet been signed but that an agreement had been reached with plaintiffs and their attorneys.

— Chandelis Duster, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
The Georgetown initiative focuses on descendants of slaves sold by Georgetown's Jesuit priests to slaveholders in Louisiana.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of priest

Noun

Attendance was mandatory, but a cleric with a loudspeaker tried to give the event a festive air.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
The lawmaker, Hamid Rasaei, a cleric who has regularly lashed out at Iran’s negotiating team, is a member of the ultra-hard-line political party Paydari.

— Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of cleric

Noun

Seven top clergypersons of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including the church head, Karekin II, have been charged with crimes related to the church’s refusal to restore a mutinous bishop.

— Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2026
What makes the family tradition sustainable in central Massachusetts, where the Vallelis now live, is a pastor-sharing arrangement between two congregations that couldn’t afford a full-time clergyperson on their own.

— G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2020

Definition of clergyperson

Noun

Of all the precious goods accumulated by the rulers and ecclesiastics of late medieval Ethiopia, the most charged of all were books.

— Peter Brown, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
This shop for ecclesiastics has an exquisite selection of high-quality pieces.

— Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2019

Definition of ecclesiastic

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clergy

clergyman

clergymen

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“Clergyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clergyman. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of clergyman

noun

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