ECCLESIASTICS Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

ecclesiastics

noun

plural of ecclesiastic

as in priests

a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church as the leading ecclesiastic for his church in the state, the bishop must be beyond reproach in everything he does

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastics

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 priests

Noun

In the halcyon days of the televangelists, when Jim Bakker stood shoulder to shoulder with fire and brimstone preachers such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggart, the collection plate always seemed bottomless.

— Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
People of faith often embraced his work, and preachers sometimes cited it in sermons.

— Courier Journal staff, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of preachers

Noun

Probably the most famous are the Latin and Middle High German poems preserved in the Carmina Burana, which are the work of goliards—wandering clerics and university students.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
Oddly enough, Iran and Afghanistan, both ruled by clerics, are the only countries in the world that still regularly stage public executions.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of clerics

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.

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ecclesiastical

ecclesiastics

echelon

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“Ecclesiastics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastics. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ecclesiastics

noun

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