as in beggar
a person who lives by public begging
those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta
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as in monastic
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Recent Examples of mendicant
Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
An internationally famous leader who lived a mendicant’s life.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
His eyes alternated between the mendicant and Bob.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
Guido eventually became a Dominican friar, dedicating himself to making art within the mendicant order; after his death, in 1455, he became known as Fra Angelico, or the Angelic Friar.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Noun
Throughout much of Buddhist history, and particularly in Theravada Buddhist contexts, mindfulness and its associated meditation methods have been the purview of mendicants (monks and nuns), who used mindfulness meditation to achieve trance states (jhana) leading to nirvana.
—Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
An internationally famous leader who lived a mendicant’s life.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
His eyes alternated between the mendicant and Bob.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
Guido eventually became a Dominican friar, dedicating himself to making art within the mendicant order; after his death, in 1455, he became known as Fra Angelico, or the Angelic Friar.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
Adjective
One was that literary journalism anthology the mendicant had flipped through.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendicant
Noun
-
Gobert was chief among the beggars imploring his teammates for a shred of consistency on that end of the floor.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Antinous later shocked the other suitors by insulting and assaulting with a footstool an elderly beggar who had spoken to him in the palace hall.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Mindfulness meditation was not widely practiced by the non-monastic Buddhist laity.—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Otherwise, rooms are almost monastic in their lack of decorative elements and rely on the interplay of shadows and sunlight for interest.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But degraded conventual forces could drive Putin to other means of exerting force.—
Matt Seyler,
ABC News,
10 May 2022
-
The Rev. Brad Heckathorne, a Conventual Franciscan friar, performed the ceremony at the chapel at Duke University.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2017
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
Adjective
-
This may seem in stark opposition to the aforementioned acoustic piety, but these dueling approaches form a beautiful medley of opposites, placing all things human right alongside all things divine, as Christophe attempts to ascertain the nature of both.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 May 2026
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Roughly nine hours west of Cairo, Siwa is known for salt pools, palm groves and the Oracle of Ammon, where Alexander the Great is said to have been declared divine.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Of these, Anglicans traditionally hold only baptism and the Eucharist as sacraments instituted by Christ and regard the others as sacramental rites.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The sacramental palms can be kept at home and returned to church or nature, but should not to be thrown away, the Archdiocese noted.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mendicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendicant. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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