clerisy

noun

ˈkler-ə-sē How to pronounce clerisy (audio)
Definition of clerisynext
as in intelligentsia
intellectuals considered as a social class a society lacking a well-established clerisy with a strong commitment to democratic ideals

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 clerisy All will be forgiven and forgotten by the clerisy of the moment. — Barton Swaim, WSJ, 18 July 2021 Only those the board licenses are admitted to the clerisy uniquely entitled to publicly discuss engineering. — George Will, Twin Cities, 13 June 2017 They are ruled by a grizzled and sclerotic clerisy that funnels resources to its private army, the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). — Matthew Continetti, National Review, 24 Sep. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clerisy
  1. intelligentsia
  2. elite
Noun
  • With his mother working as a senior official on the Supreme Court and his father as a lawyer, Magyar grew up in the heart of Hungary’s political establishment and intelligentsia.
    — Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
  • Written as a response to the utopian fiction that consumed Russia’s intelligentsia at the time, Notes from Underground is a mirror that reflects the ugliest, most pitiful aspects of humanity back at us.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of intelligentsia
Noun
  • That initial ruling also triggered a furious response from her nationalist allies at home and abroad, feeding an anti-establishment narrative of an elite conspiring to shut them out.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • While the elite pick up their paddles after a vampiric rest in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, 87% of Americans (out of 5,000 surveyed in December 2025) believe the country is in a crisis because of its unaffordability.
    — Hunter Lacey, Allure, 7 July 2026
Definition of elite

Browse Nearby Words

clerihews
clerisy
clerk
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Cite this Entry

“Clerisy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clerisy. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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