as in ecclesiastical
of or relating to a church
a council to make final determinations on ecclesiastic matters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in priest
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ecclesiastic
Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025
Forget Fleabag, Conclave, Nobody Wants This, or Ramy, there’s a new ecclesiastic bombshell on the block.
—Riann Phillip, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025
But Thondup is also sharply critical of the Tibetan political and ecclesiastic elite for their gross mismanagement of their relations with China.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
As Sheldon Wolin, author of Politics and Vision, and many others have pointed out, the Middle Ages and Renaissance saw a powerful flow of ideas from ecclesiastic to secular political philosophy.
—Jonathan Schlefer, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2015
America has no aristocracy or ecclesiastic master class.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Feb. 2022
The Vatican defended the extension by saying the agreement was purely ecclesiastic and pastoral in nature, and not political.
—Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020
The motif appeared in ecclesiastic architecture from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
—Jasper Bastian, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
The church is an example of early ecclesiastic architecture, is the second oldest synagogue remaining in Cincinnati and is the oldest still church still used for religious purposes.
—Max Londberg, Cincinnati.com, 5 Aug. 2019
Victor Pérez-Díaz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
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
Rather, Ryrie, a prize-winning historian as well as an ecclesiastic, has broadened his scope to take in nearly 750 years of doubt and disbelief in the professedly Christian West.
—Graham Hillard, National Review, 5 Dec. 2019
The old cloister, as the walled domain of the Chapter of Canons was called, housed unusual and not invariably pious persons, as well as the worldly ecclesiastics themselves.
—Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
This was the Fairy Tree L’Arbre des Dames or Le Beau Mai tree, whereupon extra-ecclesiastic celebrations were staged.
—C.d. Wright, Harper's magazine, 10 Jan. 2019
There are nearly 70 community leaders — from entrepreneurs to ecclesiastics (and a rabbi thrown in for good measure) — who have joined to address the problems that have held Louisville back for decades.
—Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2018
Adjective
Forbidden passion fueled the plot of The Thorn Birds in which the late Richard Chamberlain, played the priest Ralph de Bricassart, a heartthrob in ecclesiastic wear.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025
Forget Fleabag, Conclave, Nobody Wants This, or Ramy, there’s a new ecclesiastic bombshell on the block.
—Riann Phillip, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025
But Thondup is also sharply critical of the Tibetan political and ecclesiastic elite for their gross mismanagement of their relations with China.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
As Sheldon Wolin, author of Politics and Vision, and many others have pointed out, the Middle Ages and Renaissance saw a powerful flow of ideas from ecclesiastic to secular political philosophy.
—Jonathan Schlefer, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2015
America has no aristocracy or ecclesiastic master class.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Feb. 2022
The Vatican defended the extension by saying the agreement was purely ecclesiastic and pastoral in nature, and not political.
—Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020
The motif appeared in ecclesiastic architecture from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
—Jasper Bastian, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
The church is an example of early ecclesiastic architecture, is the second oldest synagogue remaining in Cincinnati and is the oldest still church still used for religious purposes.
—Max Londberg, Cincinnati.com, 5 Aug. 2019
Noun
The end result was a new brand of ecclesiastics and lay Catholics who felt comfortable detaching themselves from Franco’s regime, or even fighting it head-on in a variety of forums, including student movements, intellectual circles, unions, political parties, and the media.
—Victor Pérez-Díaz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
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
Rather, Ryrie, a prize-winning historian as well as an ecclesiastic, has broadened his scope to take in nearly 750 years of doubt and disbelief in the professedly Christian West.
—Graham Hillard, National Review, 5 Dec. 2019
The old cloister, as the walled domain of the Chapter of Canons was called, housed unusual and not invariably pious persons, as well as the worldly ecclesiastics themselves.
—Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
This was the Fairy Tree L’Arbre des Dames or Le Beau Mai tree, whereupon extra-ecclesiastic celebrations were staged.
—C.d. Wright, Harper's magazine, 10 Jan. 2019
There are nearly 70 community leaders — from entrepreneurs to ecclesiastics (and a rabbi thrown in for good measure) — who have joined to address the problems that have held Louisville back for decades.
—Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastic
Adjective
-
Second, the dating of the Paschal Full Moon is not based on astronomical computations but rather is taken from ecclesiastical tables.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Pope Francis has named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore the next bishop, or top official, of the Diocese of Providence, a 153-year-old ecclesiastical territory of the Roman Catholic Church.—
Jonathan M. Pitts,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Francis rose through the ranks as a Jesuit priest in his home country of Argentina.—
Susan Miller,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Following in the footsteps of his older brother Brian, Farrell entered the Legionaries of Christ congregation in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1978 in Rome.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Francis urged political leaders to guard against religious extremism and warned Catholics not to force their faith on others during a 2024 visit to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Founders envisioned a country free from the establishment of a single religious tradition — not for the good of the state as much as for the integrity of religious practice and to avoid competition between faiths for government resources.—
Chloe Breyer,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The preacher and producer has been dating his soon-to-be wife for a year.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Castillo is ecstatic to be marrying the preacher and was taken aback by the proposal.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
If clergymen are defrocked and lawyers are disbarred, then alcoholics are delivered, hairdressers are distressed, and pornographers are deluded.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Kirchner had, a year earlier, backed sanctions for clergymen who publicly opposed the government’s human rights policies, including his decision to annul laws pardoning dictatorship-era atrocities.—
Federico Perelmuter,
The Dial,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
By 2024, lay and religious women participated and voted in key synodal sessions previously exclusively reserved for bishops and cardinals.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Prior to his papacy, bishops and cardinals typically submitted their resignations at 75.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ecclesiastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastic. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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