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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ecclesiastic
Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 7 May 2026
Back then, Kennedy was constantly fending off accusations from Protestant ecclesiastic types who were wary that his nomination meant the pontiff, John XXIII, was already packing his bags for a move into the White House.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Waugh was based for many years in a grand house in nearby Combe Florey and adapted this local ecclesiastic landmark for fictional purposes.
—Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
Think of it like an ecclesiastic LinkedIn.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2025
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
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
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
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
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
Adjective
This will be followed by a final period in Florence to learn the technique and historical evolution of egg tempera, to acquire ancient handweaving skills and expand her knowledge of its applications in the ecclesiastic context.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 7 May 2026
Back then, Kennedy was constantly fending off accusations from Protestant ecclesiastic types who were wary that his nomination meant the pontiff, John XXIII, was already packing his bags for a move into the White House.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Waugh was based for many years in a grand house in nearby Combe Florey and adapted this local ecclesiastic landmark for fictional purposes.
—Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
Think of it like an ecclesiastic LinkedIn.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2025
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
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
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
Noun
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastic
Adjective
-
But the chapel, heavy with the scent of ecclesiastical incense, felt as genuine as could be, worn from nearly two centuries of worship.—
Paul Brady,
Travel + Leisure,
15 May 2026
-
Walsh’s ruling gave the OCA, which is the largest of three Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in the United States, authority to govern the parish and the judge ordered the parish’s former leaders to vacate the property by June 2025.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Paradise Metal—the debut of Father Dionysios Tabakis, a 53-year-old priest in Nafplio, a small Greek city off the Argolic Gulf—is actually a series of epiphanies, an ostensible curiosity that functions as an object lesson about expectations.—
Grayson Haver Currin,
Pitchfork,
14 May 2026
-
At one point, his condition seemed so dire that a priest was called to provide Giuliani his last rites, a Catholic sacrament often administered to the dying.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Many, though not all, Shiites support Hezbollah, as do Lebanese from other religious groups.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
-
Hunting, gathering, and ceremonies connected to the Brunot lands are integral to Ute religious and cultural life, with the Ute people historically returning to familiar hunting and gathering areas year after year.—
Shaun Chapoose,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
The girls follow his trail of tears to Divine (Erika Alexander), a charismatic preacher still in the carnal thrall of her time with their father.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
-
Far from being a fringe belief system, masculinism has become the single most important force uniting the American right, bringing together an unlikely constellation of pastors, posters, senators, preachers, influencers, podcasters, and fanboys.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
McColumn is a retired Brigadier General and clergyman from Warner Robins, Georgia.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The clergyman warns that failure to do so would jeopardize the future of Iran as well as the stability of the entire Middle East, unleashing an even more volatile and repressive regime in the war’s wake.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The bishop, speaking with the Washington Examiner ahead of the address, called belief in the Christian God a fundamental underpinning of American civil society that guarantees minority faiths’ freedoms.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
17 May 2026
-
Bishop Robert Barron, who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who recently retired from his position as bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, both Catholic, are also scheduled speakers.—
Yonat Shimron,
NPR,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ecclesiastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastic. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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