as in ministerial
of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy
clerical duties such as providing spiritual counseling and leading Bible study classes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
some of the state's most prominent clericals have spoken out against the measure
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 clerical
Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025
They will not be armed and will focus on logistics, including transporting detainees, assisting ICE agents during transfers, and handling clerical processing.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The clerical regime uses the IRGC for its terrorist and kidnapping operations abroad.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Under the settlement agreement, UIA is prevented from collecting overpayments until protest or appeal rights have been exhausted and claimants are given a chance to request a waiver based on financial hardship, administrative or clerical error or a wage reporting error.
—Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clerical
Adjective
After his retirement George Austen enjoyed an income of up to £600 per annum from his clerical livings and an annuity (Letters, 29); all this disappeared with his death.
—Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025
They will not be armed and will focus on logistics, including transporting detainees, assisting ICE agents during transfers, and handling clerical processing.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The clerical regime uses the IRGC for its terrorist and kidnapping operations abroad.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Under the settlement agreement, UIA is prevented from collecting overpayments until protest or appeal rights have been exhausted and claimants are given a chance to request a waiver based on financial hardship, administrative or clerical error or a wage reporting error.
—Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clerical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clerical
Adjective
-
Landau, in Seoul for a Korea-US vice foreign ministerial meeting, said that the 316 South Koreans who returned home Friday on a chartered jet after being detained in Georgia will face no disadvantage when re-entering the US, according to South Korea’s foreign ministry.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
-
The plaintiffs claim his acts denied access to justice, violated ministerial duties and undermined the public’s trust.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Most of all, reason was no replacement for the religion—Roman Catholicism—that the Revolution had downgraded and in many cases tried to eliminate through the mass murder of priests and the destruction of churches.—
Paul Kingsnorth,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
-
In 2023, Francis moved to allow informal, non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples by a priest.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Rowland wrote these tunes surrounded by that pastoral beauty.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The answer isn’t to toggle back and forth between going all out and retreating into pastoral fantasies, but to recognize that for everything, there is a season.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One recent Sunday evening, about 200 filled a Cincinnati church where preachers from several faith backgrounds urged them to demand his freedom.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Their uncompromising moral clarity shaped the conscience of the West, later echoed by Christian preachers crusading for abolition, civil rights, and human dignity.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Husseini attempted to ply him with patronage, appointing him imam of a new mosque, but the cleric’s burgeoning following augured poorly for Husseini’s grip on power.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Soliman is known as an elegant dresser, but his apartment was in bachelor-pad disarray, a reflection of his long hours at the hospital and the abruptness of his detention, said his friends, also clerics.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clerical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clerical. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share