as in prioress
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Recent Examples of abbess
One of them was the abbess of a female religious community in Kent from around 733 to 761 CE, which is consistent with the dating of MS Selden Supra 30.
—
Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2023
Groff imagined the poet Marie de France as a teenager forced to venture into the dark woods to serve as the abbess.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
It’s been nearly 14 centuries since the monastery founded by St. Hild of Whitby, a prominent abbess in 7th century Anglo-Saxon England, hosted the Northumbrian kingdom’s assembly to discuss the date on which its Christian church would celebrate Easter.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2023
Another early modern abbess, likely one Eadburg of Minster-in-Thanet, left behind a legacy of a different kind: her name and assorted doodles of humanoid figures, inscribed on the pages of an eighth-century Christian manuscript now housed at the University of Oxford.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for abbess
Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2023
Groff imagined the poet Marie de France as a teenager forced to venture into the dark woods to serve as the abbess.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
It’s been nearly 14 centuries since the monastery founded by St. Hild of Whitby, a prominent abbess in 7th century Anglo-Saxon England, hosted the Northumbrian kingdom’s assembly to discuss the date on which its Christian church would celebrate Easter.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2023
Another early modern abbess, likely one Eadburg of Minster-in-Thanet, left behind a legacy of a different kind: her name and assorted doodles of humanoid figures, inscribed on the pages of an eighth-century Christian manuscript now housed at the University of Oxford.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for abbess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abbess
Noun
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Matrix by Lauren Groff Currents of violence and devotion coalesce around Marie de France, a 17-year-old sent to be the new prioress of a 12th-century English abbey.—
Mia Barzilay Freund,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
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In response, the diocese said in a statement that the Holy See has acted toward healing the Arlington Carmel and the nuns in the community and not simply the former prioress and her former councilors.—
Elizabeth Campbell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Apr. 2024
Noun
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De Leon most recently starred in Season 2 of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers as Agnes, a former nun, working opposite Nicole Kidman, Christine Baranski and Henry Golding.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
29 July 2025
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On Monday, the Buddhist Association of China said in a statement that Shi had been stripped of his ordination certificate – an official proof of a monk’s or nun’s qualification to enter monastic life.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
28 July 2025
Noun
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In the medieval church, women’s roles were limited – usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress walled up alone for life, or a nun in a classic convent.—
Joelle Rollo-Koster,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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Louise, a former anchoress, is her humble, tyrannical maid.—
Hervé Guibert,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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For seasoned cooks and kitchen novices, cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller takes it back to basics with great, family-friendly recipes worth making over and over again.—
Robin Miller,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
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These tools power cybercrime, automating sophisticated attacks and enabling novices to deploy phishing, malware or social engineering campaigns with ease.—
Skip Sanzeri,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Noun
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In February, Shi led a delegation of monks from the Shaolin Temple to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
28 July 2025
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Steger had long admired the late Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton, who once lived there.—
Jeanette Hurt,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
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Seer: Big-budget historical epic following the Trojan priestess Cassandra and her lover Apollo.—
Vulture Staff,
Vulture,
15 July 2025
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One of the exciting new discoveries includes new information regarding Babylonian women–many were priestesses.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
2 July 2025
Noun
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In total, the outlets reported that nine abbots and senior monks have stepped down from their roles or been thrown out of the monkhood in relation to Emsawat’s case.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
17 July 2025
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For years, guilt and anguish haunted the temple’s abbot, Ham Tae-wan.—
Zachary Small,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abbess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abbess. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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