anchoress

noun

variants or ancress
Definition of anchoressnext
as in prioress

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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 anchoress 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anchoress
  1. prioress
  2. abbess
  3. religious
  4. nun
  5. monk
  6. monastic
  7. friar
  8. novice
Noun
  • The slow-burn thriller is partially based on a 17th century ballad in which the heroic outlaw’s cousin, a malevolent prioress, bleeds the older, ailing Robin to death under the guise of the ancient medical treatment known as bloodletting.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026
  • After Robin is gravely injured, he is taken in by the sage prioress Brigid (Jodie Comer), who nurses him back to health at an island convent.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 17 June 2026
Definition of prioress
Noun
  • Hildegard was a Catholic abbess of the Benedictine Order.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Now, thanks to a greater emphasis on women’s education in recent years, Tibetan Buddhist nuns are increasingly becoming teachers and abbesses.
    — Darcie Price-Wallace, The Conversation, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of abbess
Noun
  • As a young religious, Bishop-elect Lombardo did missionary work in Bolivia and Honduras.
    — Laura Rodríguez Presa, chicagotribune.com, 11 Sep. 2020
Definition of religious
Noun
  • Texas lawmakers help secure nun's release As news of Ugboaja's detention spread, members of southern Texas’ congressional delegation called for the nun's release.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Over the last week, the agency has arrested 10,000 people, including a nun in Texas who was later released after outcry from officials, community leaders and activists.
    — Vera Lucia Pappaterra, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
Definition of nun
Noun
  • The first Spanish expedition to California in 1542 was followed about 220 years later when Gaspar de Portolá and Franciscan monk Junipero Serra traversed the coastal lands.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • In the 18th century, an Italian monk, Father Antonio Piaggio, invented a device to gently unroll the carbonized papyrus.
    — Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 26 June 2026
Definition of monk
Noun
  • These people who see the theater as almost a monastic calling something of a higher order, and they’re brilliantly educated and funny.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
  • As the numbers of women at the highest echelons of learning continue to grow, women will likewise expand their ability to take leadership roles in their monastic and lay communities – helping to improve other nuns’ education and protecting Tibetan culture in the process.
    — Darcie Price-Wallace, The Conversation, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of monastic
Noun
  • Fra Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who was a medieval Italian Franciscan friar and explorer in 1244 went to Mongolia [as a papal ambassador].
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 13 June 2026
  • The storied residence was first commissioned in 1712 by Anna Gravina, Princess of Gravina and Valguarnera, and it's also attributed to Dominican friar and architect Tommaso Maria Napoli.
    — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
Definition of friar
Noun
  • The free Apple Photos is approachable for photography novices but still powerful enough to satisfy those who want extra control.
    — Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, 29 June 2026
  • Authorities say five instructors, five novice tandem jumpers and the pilot died when the Pilatus PC-6 suddenly fell almost vertically near homes after leaving Nancy-Essey airfield.
    — Antonin Utz, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
Definition of novice

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Cite this Entry

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

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